Most people have heard by now of Telemedicine and its visionary idea to use advanced telecommunications technology to reach patients in remote locations with a whole host and team of professionals. Telemedicine and telehealth are terms used interchangeably to refer to the use of remote healthcare technology to deliver clinical services.[1] Telemedicine is a fast growing segment of the U.S. healthcare industry with increasing networks and service sites. Over 1 million Americans are currently using remote cardiac monitors and in 2011, the Veterans Health Administration delivered over 300,000 remote consultations using telemedicine.
The advent of a telecommunications society means that more interconnectivity exists for medical device manufacturers with a live medium of decision-making involving groups and expert opinions. The data acquisition and technology interface for wearable technology in the medical device industry with telemedicine providers becomes increased in secure patient data and real time decisions become vital.
A Teliris VirtualLife high-resolution telepresence system in use (Courtesy of: Teliris)[2]
Telemedicine is making it possible for rural areas where access to healthcare is difficult due to larger distances. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has recently awarded 31 grants totaling $8.6 million for rural telemedicine efforts across 34 states.
The grants were part of the $20 million awarded by the USDA Rural Development Distance Learning and Telemedicine program, announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Nov. 20. According to Vilsack, these telehealth investments mean that “people who live and work in rural areas will not have to travel long distances for specialized healthcare services.” [3] This is a new market that is ripe for medical device manufacturers to develop new platforms of technology delivery and interface to the rural areas.
On the other side of the mainstream spectrum, the deployment platform for new medical apps is the tablets and smart phones. Health care decision makers are providing “space-shifting” real-time and historical medical data that is intended to be visualized.
In the world of contract manufacturing, you might be curious as to how a CM can rapidly develop and deploy native mobility applications. In the case of Valtronic, they have built a custom technology platform, Compendium, a new secure implant and physiological connectivity platform. Wearable technology and the horizon of medical wearables has become reality, and Valtronic has developed the solution to take it to the next level. Click below to download the most recent brochure regarding Valtronic’s Compendium.
[1] http://www.americantelemed.org/about-telemedicine/faqs#.VAtQZPldUvx
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_telecommunication_services_and_product_brands
[3] http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/news-item/usda-awards-86m-rural-telehealth-initiatives
