New Telepresence Server Bridges Telepresence and Video Conferencing Worlds
Tandberg, global provider of telepresence, high definition video conferencing and mobile video solutions, has introduced a telepresence server that brings Tandberg telepresence and multi-vendor video conferencing endpoints into a telepresence environment. A new package of Tandberg-certified services coupled with the new Tandberg Telepresence T3 immersive system complete the telepresence experience from Tandberg.

With the Tandberg Telepresence Server, any type of standards-compliant video system can be added to a Tandberg telepresence meeting at the best possible quality, including HD. For example, an expert from a home office using standards-compliant PC-video can join in a telepresence meeting at a moment's notice to speed decision-making. The Telepresence Server provides robustness and reliability through unique Tandberg transcoding technology, which allows systems with varying capabilities on different networks with different bandwidths to join into the same telepresence meeting. The Telepresence Server becomes a platform for scalability as an organization's use of telepresence grows.

For user convenience, five different telepresence viewing modes are available, that extend the concept of continuous presence into the telepresence environment. Meeting participants can see each other at the same time between multiple sites, rather than just one other site. Tandberg telepresence users can select their preferred mode and, for connecting standards-compliant video conferencing systems, the server intelligently determines the best mode to establish the highest quality experience possible.

The Tandberg Telepresence Server extends Tandberg's Total Telepresence solution. Tandberg Total Telepresence is a complete set of products and services that includes the Tandberg Telepresence T3, Tandberg Telepresence T1, Tandberg Personal Telepresence 1700, Tandberg Codec C90 Telepresence Engine and Tandberg-certified services.
The Tandberg Telepresence Server will ship by January 2009.

American TeleCare Provides Telehealth Technology and Program Support Services to the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Hudson Valley in New York State
American TeleCare, Inc. (ATI), the leader in the development and application of video-based telehealth solutions and intelligent monitoring, announced that the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Hudson Valley has selected ATI for telehealth technology and program support services. VNA of Hudson Valley is doubling the size of its existing telehealth program and pioneering the application of telehealth for hospice care with ATI solutions and support. Under the agreement, ATI is providing 52 ATI LifeView Patient Stations and a full range of program planning and training services.

ATI’s LifeView Telehealth System combines remote patient monitoring with interactive video for televisits. LifeView Patient Stations are placed in patients’ homes. They are compact, easy-to-use monitors that gather information from questions that patients answer as well as objective clinical data from integrated medical peripherals (including blood pressure monitors and blood glucose meters). Care teams use LifeView Provider Stations to connect to Patient Stations, manage ongoing monitoring, conduct televisits, and carry out care plans. ATI’s telehealth technology enables clinicians to customize care plans based on the specific needs of individual patients. Clinical scoring algorithms summarize health risks associated with a patient’s vitals, physiological measurements and responses to questions according to individualized key indicators and levels as pre-determined by clinicians for each patient.

Hospice Care in Westchester & Putnam, an affiliate of VNA of Hudson Valley, is the area’s largest provider of home care hospice services to individuals with advanced or life-threatening illness. Hospice Care promotes living with dignity, hope and support. The comprehensive services offered include palliative care that provides expert pain and symptom management to enable individuals to remain at home with quality of life and physical comfort. In addition, Hospice Care assists family members by supporting them in managing stress and coping with a loved one’s illness.

REACH Call, Inc. Experiences Gains
REACH Call, Inc., provider of 100 percent Web-based solutions for remote treatment of medical conditions such as stroke, begins the fourth quarter of 2008 with $2 million in funding, new sales executives and new customers.

MCG Health, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCGHealth Medical Center, MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related outpatient facilities and services throughout the state of Georgia, announced that it would invest $2 million in REACH to help the company accelerate its growth, quickly capture market share and rapidly roll out more services to new and existing customers.

Since its inception in 2006, REACH has remained debt-free and profitable with little outside funding. MCG Health previously invested $100,000 in seed money; later, REACH won $100,000 in the inaugural Georgia Research Alliance/Technology Association of Georgia start-up contest.

REACH also has increased its staff, adding a vice president of sales and marketing, as well as two regional sales directors. James (Jim) Jake will lead the sales and marketing team as vice president, bringing with him more than 15 years of medical sales experience and a comprehensive knowledge of specialty care divisions, including neurology, stroke care, cardiac, and ICU.

Along with the added funding and staff, REACH also announced three new customers. St. Joseph's/Candler (SJ/C) in Savannah, Ga., will use REACH to provide remote stroke evaluation from two affiliate hospitals—St. Joseph’s Hospital and Candler Hospital—using REACH.

Today, 64 hospitals throughout California, Florida, Georgia, New York, Tennessee, South Carolina and Wyoming use the 100 percent Web-based REACH telestroke service in a hub-and-spoke model, where specialists at the larger “hub” hospital provide consulting services to smaller “spoke” hospitals for remote evaluation of stroke and other medical conditions. Spoke hospital ER staff use a Web browser running on a laptop embedded in a REACH mobile workstation to initiate a consult with a specialist who is affiliated with the hub hospital. The consulting physician can use any laptop or PC, a standard off-the-shelf webcam, and a broadband Internet connection to communicate with the spoke hospital. The specialist has complete control over the two-way audio and video communication and can view all patient data and DICOM images, then use the integrated decision support tools to efficiently and effectively evaluate the patient and recommend treatment.

Berg Insight Predicts 50 million People to Benefit from Wireless Home Healthcare Monitoring
According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, 50 million people in the EU and the US could potentially benefit from wireless home healthcare monitoring solutions. However, there are still very few commercial products that enable distance monitoring of medical equipment such as glucose level meters or blood pressure monitors via mobile networks. The report identifies fundamentally different approaches to technology as one of the key explanations for why the healthcare and mobile industries have not yet found a good match.

In order to pave the way for wireless solutions in healthcare, Berg Insight advises the mobile industry to explain that they fulfill all requirements on safety, data security and reliability in the healthcare sector while at the same time delivering better performance at lower cost compared to legacy systems. Mobile industry players must reach out to medical device manufacturers and caregivers to present solutions that allow them to take full advantage of the latest communication technology.

Healthcare to Avoid Global IT Budget Crunch
Technology vendors are up against a struggle with growth in IT budgets expected to fall in 2009. This is according to the latest report by independent market analyst firm Datamonitor. The report “Technology Trends: Analyzing Global Enterprise IT Budgets 2008” reveals that the majority of enterprises globally are planning to cut back increases in IT expenditure. The exception however is the healthcare sector, which contrary to other verticals, is planning a significant number of increases in IT spend in 2009. The report also points out that contrary to what many may think, the downward trend is not solely due to the current economic climate. It has in fact been evident over the last couple of years.

The majority of enterprises will halt increases in 2009
Datamonitor has analyzed the responses of over 8000 IT decision makers between 2006 and 2008. For the fourth consecutive year the number of enterprises planning to significantly increase their IT budget has fallen. This according to Datamonitor suggests there are deeper concerns in the IT market than just the recent economic problems.

More than 50 percent of respondents stated that they expect to keep their IT budget the same in 2009 as it was in 2008. And, 37 percent of the respondents expect to see their IT budget increase in 2009, while 13 percent are anticipating IT budget cuts. This appears to be a mixed message for technology vendors and service providers. It indicates that, on the whole, enterprises are not planning to decrease their IT expenditure despite the current economic climate.

Verticals are reacting differently to market conditions and the healthcare industry is planning significant spending increases in 2009
While the retail and manufacturing industries are suffering from high interest rates, falling domestic demand, inflation and higher commodity prices, the healthcare industry is planning significant spending increases in 2009, with 57 percent of respondents in the industry saying they plan to expand IT expenditure.

In Western Europe, the US and Japan, the aging “baby boom” generation is starting to increase demand on the health services, leading to rising costs for national and private health systems. In an attempt to address this, the healthcare industry is currently investing in new technologies which will enable them to cut costs in the long run and provide more efficient care.

American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN)
Annual Conference - MARCH 26-30, 2009
Philadelphia, PA.  Earn over 30's CEs

Network with telehealth nurses from across the country and hear nationally known speakers present on these telehealth topics:

-Essential Components of Telephone Nursing: A Model to Guide your Practice (2 hr. special session)
-Juggling Efficiencies, Quality of Care, and Standard Adherence: Formulating Telehealth Performance Metrics (2 hr. workshop)
-Implementing a Telephone Triage Decision Support Tool in the Primary Care Setting
-Bridging the Gap:  Building Healthier Communities One Caller at a Time
-Critical Thinking and Telephone Triage: Making the Right Choices
-Due Diligence:  Hiring the best Candidate for your Telehealth Position
-All-day Post-Conference newly updated Telehealth Nursing Practice Core Course (TNPCC). 
-Network at the Telehealth Special Interest Group Meeting

Certification:
Telehealth nurses are encouraged to achieve certification in ambulatory care.  Take the all-day Certification Review Course on Thursday, 3/26, then sit for the ANCC Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Exam on Sunday, 3/29.  Pre-registration for the exam with ANCC by December 19, 2008 is required. 

View the full conference brochure/register online at:
www.aaacn.org/conference
Pat Reichart
Association Services Manager
American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing
P.O. Box 56
Pitman, NJ  08071-0056
Phone: 800-AMB-NURS
E-mail: reichartp@ajj.com
Website: www.aaacn.org
Come to our 34th Annual Conference
"Leading the Revolution in Building Healthier Communities"
March 26-29, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA
Take the Ambulatory Care Nursing Exam on Sunday, 3/29.
Purchase recordings from the 2008 Chicago, IL conference
at www.prolibraries.com/aaacn
Purchase these resources:
-2nd Edition Core Curriculum for Ambulatory Care Nursing
Earn over 30 contact hours
-Ambulatory Care Nursing Administration & Practice Standards, 2007
-Telehealth Nursing Practice Administration & Practice Standards, 2007
-Telehealth Nursing Practice Resource Directory, 2008