Health Care: Collaboration Technology Advances Telehealth

Telehealth is the enhancement of health care delivery, education and administration services with information and collaboration technologies.   Over the last decade in particular, technology has proved disruptive across a wide range of industries.  The health care industry is no exception and appears to be poised for dramatic change in the coming years.  The US Department of Health and Human Services has established a special program dedicated to the promotion and adoption of telehealth, called the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth.

A recent survey by Cisco and Princeton Survey Research Associates found that telehealth collaborative technologies are beginning to have an impact, especially across large-scale health sector.  Telehealth has potential in addressing three major concerns in the health care industry:

• Clustered geographical location of health professionals
• Need to provide consistent and equitable health services
• Shortage of health professionals

The Cisco survey found that collaboration is changing how health care is delivered.  Respondents to the survey thought that telehealth would bring about a “significant, nationwide health transformation.”  65 percent of the respondents thought that collaborative sharing of information like diagnostic images and patient data will improve health care, 65 percent thought that collaboration technologies would improve clinical training, and 95 percent said that telehealth has strong potential to transform health care delivery in general.

But as of yet, most of the talk is about the potential for the technology rather than a discussion of positive results already being achieved.  Only 4  percent say that collaboration between health care professionals happens on a regular basis today, and only 9 percent are currently able to share electronic data and images on a regular basis.

Initiatives are now underway investigating the following possible areas where telehealth could be applied:

Surge capacity. The ability for remote health practitioners to be able to assist after events like earthquakes, tsunamis, and disease pandemics

Supplemental Support. On-demand staff augmentation to help rural and community health professionals especially in areas where highly specialized skills and knowledge is required.

National center of Clinical Excellence. Centers for providing remote consultation and care-management, supporting inpatient, outpatient and community care settings.