NEW YORK, NY and BOSTON, MA -- 10/27/09 --
For many patients in rural and
remote areas, a medical emergency can often involve a lengthy trip for
care. The Center for Connected Health and Massachusetts General Hospital
(MGH), established leaders in the field of telehealth, have recently
purchased and implemented a complete integrated solution from TANDBERG, the leading global provider
of telepresence, high-definition video conferencing and mobile video
products and services. This upgrade to their existing video
teleconferencing (VTC) infrastructure will enable MGH to deliver faster,
high quality care from specialists in emergency situations more effectively
than before, and make conditions that require continued care less costly
and inconvenient for patients.
Utilizing TANDBERG's revolutionary technology, doctors at the MGH will be
able to connect with patients and other doctors face-to-face and with
unparalleled quality. This will enable the hospital's existing staff of
specialists to continue to effectively and efficiently treat patients and
provide consultations to doctors regardless of where they are located. Some
of the expected uses of video communication include:
-- Telestroke: Many stroke patients do not receive clot-dissolving
medication or stroke prevention treatment in a timely manner due to waiting
until they can be transported to a hospital with a dedicated vascular
neurologist, or until a neurologist arrives at the bedside. This can lead
to delays that translate into lesser stroke recovery. Tandberg's VTC
solution enables Massachusetts General Hospital's staff of internationally-
renowned stroke neurologists, including Dr. Lee Schwamm, to examine
potential stroke victims immediately via video and quickly initiate stroke
treatments and medicines more reliably and with greater reach into the
community.
-- TeleTrauma: A pilot program expected to begin at the end of 2009, VTC
solutions will enable MGH to bring specialists and translators directly
into the emergency room to help better treat and increase communication
with patients.
"The Center for Connected Health and Massachusetts General Hospital are a
model for other healthcare providers around the world," said Joel Brunson,
President, Public Sector at TANDBERG. "We are excited to provide the video
technologies and infrastructure that will bring the hospital's high quality
care and expert medical knowledge to patients in need regardless of their
location."
"In today's healthcare environment, it's all about delivering the right
care to the right patient in the right amount of time; video communication
and telemedicine are no longer pilot programs -- they are a requirement for
providing the highest quality and most cost-effective care," said Dr. Lee
Schwamm, Vice Chairman of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and
Director of the Partners TeleStroke Center.
The implementation of TANDBERG VTC solutions is expected to be one of the
major initiatives highlighted this week at CIMIT Innovation
Congress 2009. TANDBERG will be participating in the event, which will
be held October 27-28 at the Back Bay Events Center in Boston. VTC was also
a hot topic at the Connected Health Symposium,
which was held October 21-22, 2009 also in Boston.
For more information on TANDBERG Total Healthcare, visit www.TANDBERG.com.
About the Center for Connected Health
The Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare, is
creating effective, new solutions and innovative interventions to deliver
quality patient care outside of the traditional medical setting. Our
programs use a combination of remote-monitoring technology, sensors, and
online communications and intelligence to improve patient adherence,
engagement and clinical outcomes. The Center also offers expert online
second opinions, enhanced medical education and training, and engages in
innovative research to discover new pathways to better care, including the
use of virtual worlds and online coaching. Visit www.connected-health.org.
Boston-based Partners HealthCare is an integrated health system founded in
1994 by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. In
addition to its two academic medical centers, the Partners system also
includes community and specialty hospitals, community health centers, a
physician network, home health and long-term care services, and other
health-related entities. Partners is one of the nation's leading biomedical
research organizations and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard
Medical School. Partners is a non-profit organization. Visit
www.partners.org.
About the Partners TeleStroke Center
The Partners Telestroke Center uses interactive videoconferencing to
connect stroke specialists with patients at any of 27 member hospitals
across New England. The network is supported by two downtown major medical
centers that are tertiary care comprehensive stroke centers, who provide
clinical stroke expertise on demand, ongoing continuing medical education,
local stroke systems development and comprehensive stroke care services for
patients transferred after consultation. In addition, the Partners
Telestroke Center has assisted several other academic medical centers and
hospital networks in the design and implementation their own high quality
stroke telemedicine networks. For more information, visit
www.telestrokecenter.org.
About TANDBERG
TANDBERG is the leading global provider of telepresence, high-definition
video conferencing and mobile video products and services. Dually
headquartered in New York and Norway, TANDBERG designs, develops and
markets systems and software for video, voice and data. The company
provides sales, support and value-added services in over 90 countries and
is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker TAA.OL.
Visit www.tandberg.com for more information.
TANDBERG is a trademark or registered trademark in the U.S. and other
countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of
their respective owners.
Contact:
Chris Parente
Strategic Communications Group
301-408-4500
Email Contact
