Should you fall ill at 4am, you still want the best healthcare professionals as you would at 2pm when the staff are on-duty in the hospital. However, at 4am, most senior consultants are at home and out of reach. Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance in both urban and rural settings. The use of telemedicine could also provide you with access to the best healthcare professionals at 4am. Imagine you have suffered a heart attack and arrive at the Accident and Emergency (Emergency Room) department of your local hospital. Whether a local or specialist consultant is required to make an assessment on your condition, a telemedicine cart in the Emergency Room provides your vital statistics and video to a consultant at home or thousands of miles away.
Acano has put together some scenarios where their innovative and creative technology pushes the boundaries of telemedicine. Using an Acano coSpace, the consultants first contact with you is on his or her iPad at home, able to see video of you and to chat with the healthcare professionals in the Emergency Room and look at your vital statistics. While driving to the hospital to provide a consultation with you, the consultant is able to handover seamlessly to their iPhone to continue talking with the other healthcare professionals.
Acano also suggests the use of their technology to connect consultants based in popular urban areas with distant rural hospitals. Even to the point of using virtual reality glasses soon to be launched in 2014 to guide the surgeon in the rural hospital operating theatre.
Read more about how Acano has made telemedicine a cheaper and simpler reality where you can truly bring your own devices (BYOD) instead of relying on expensive high-end video-conferencing technology.