Ithcare IT News
`
`www.hea!thcareitnews.com
`
`GOVERNMENT
`
`HEALTH I
`
`www.govhealthit.com
`
`
`
`FDAtIraft giideliiieslor
`medical apps draw adeluge
`ofcomments
`18
`Payersembrace
`rnolziilehealth apps ........1B
`0&A:Telernedlclne
`in the Theater ulwar...... 20
`
`Telehealth isstill waiting
`turitstlppingpolnt.........21
`Smallpracticesaraserving
`astl'ie'lii1i‘fnrheatIhcare
`delivery..........................22
`Provldstsandpat3'etrtsare
`emixachgmoiiiiity ........23
`Newrnettiodsiurdelivering
`telelIealll1spurbroa:lei'
`
`Caiadaofiaisexanwplesof
`taleheatltidonerlgtit......25
`Tapping teleheutt: in
`
`
`
`Bosch Ex. 2019
`Cardiocom v. Bosch IPR2013-00468
`
`LASKA:
`round Zero for Telehealth
`Innovation and Deployment
`
`By Eric Wicklund. Senior Editor
`ANCHORAGE, AK — Alaska's telehealth prmrarn
`is marching loiward on the back ol .3 device affec-
`tionately known as the “turtle.”
`Otherwise known as Bosch Hea|thcare's
`ViTelCare T400 Home Health Monitor. the device
`— about the size of a small microwave oven — is
`drawing rave reviews from healthcare crevic-
`ers and their patients. About 130 “turtles” have
`been distributed to 60 sites by the Alaska Federal
`Heaithcare Pam-iership (AFHCPJ. with plans to
`bring that number up to about 800 by the end
`of the year.
`in development for more than seven years. the
`‘turtle’ securely transmits patient data 4 either
`automatically or manually — several times a day, and
`offers a touchscreen inter1ace and audio-enabled
`health assessment questions.
`“This is an amazing technology.‘ said Samuel
`C. Johnson Ill. executive director of the AFHCP. a
`voluntary partnership of the state's iederatly lunged
`heaithcare agencies. spanning six regional tribal
`hospitals. 39 independent native health agen-
`cies and 203 tribal health centers and clinics. “It's
`simple. it's reasonably inexpensive
`and it gives
`people the ability to manage their own healthcare.'
`
`That‘s important. Johnson adds. in a state where
`people would just as ollen use a snowmobile. dog-
`sled. boat or helicopter as a motor vehicle to get to
`a hospital. Add to that the tact that more than 10
`
` '--u-.._.
`
`--._‘._
`‘
`Providence Nun Mudical Cultlr in Anchorage has been Imrolv;d in several tularnadlclno
`programs. including Fravtdcncn Emergency stroke care.
`percent of the population suffers from some sort
`The nation's largest state in terms of area. Alaska
`1
`of chronic condition. and the need icr continuous
`oliers a number oi iactors that make it a hotoed
`care is vital.
`for telehealth projects. Its small population (a little
`more than 730.000) is spread out over a chal~
`“Sometimes we have no contact with a patient
`unless there's an episode. and try then it’s too late
`lenglng landscape, ranging irom the rocky coast
`to do anything except get them to 3 hospital,‘ he
`and Aleutian Islands to Denali's rugged interior
`said.
`ALASKA see PAGE 19
`
`

`
`OCTOBER 2011 I ww-w.gou'hoalthl'l’.oorn
`
`TELEHEALTH 19
`
`Samuel Johnson
`
`ALASKA
`CONTINUED Fnoiu PAGE 17
`to the Arctic Circle. Tnat popuia-
`tion includes a significant numoer ol
`military personal (45 percent oi the
`state's population) and indigenous
`people — the torrner of which have
`oenelitted greatly from telehealtn
`programs. and the latter cl which
`coutd.
`(As further evidence oi the states
`influence on telehealth conversa-
`tion. the American Telemedicine
`Association this month hosted its
`annual midayear conference and
`exposition in Anchorage. drawing
`hundreds oi heaithcr.-ire executives
`and experts to a tocation normally
`thought to be on the lringes ol the
`c o n le re n c e
`map.
`it
`3 5:)
`-"io.'t
`doesn't
`that the ATA'S
`vice president
`is Stewart
`F erg u s o n .
`CIO of
`the
`Alaska Native
`Tribal Health
`Go n so r t i u m
`(ANTHC). which oversees much of
`the state's lelehealth initiatives].
`The ViTelCare T400 is one of two
`systems pioneered by Robert Bosch
`Healthcare. the Polo Alto. Calil.-
`C356-3 3i‘r‘iS|C-"
`:‘i the r‘ter"a‘.::-r‘ai
`technology giant. EOSCE has risen
`working with the U.S. Department
`oi Veterans Atlarrs tor littie more
`than a decade. First through the
`Health Spicy §;rS‘.er* 3:‘: tree‘ :9-9
`so-caiied "tulle." in .-trasna, Bosch
`is partnering with Michigan—‘oaseo
`Critical Signal Technologies. inc.,
`to deploy the “turtles” to AFHCP
`members.
`“This is really an underserved rural
`population. one that could gain the
`most lrom the use ol telehealth tech-
`nology.‘ said Melarie Scncenserger.
`a marketing speciailsl at Eioscn.
`who pointed out that Bosch is the
`largest telehealth provider to the
`VA. “Providing them with the tools
`to manage their own health is very
`powerlul — it's Leading to some very
`impressive interventions, The cost
`is measured not just
`r‘ :in*crcveo
`clinical outcomes; out a reduction
`in stress."
`Tim Scheflel. medical director at
`the Dena'ina Health Clinic in Kenai.
`part of the Keriaitze Indian Tribes
`Health System. has been using the
`"turtle" tor roughiy tour years. starting
`with an enroltment ot six and now
`the largest clinic user oi the devices.
`“What we've tound is that the
`patients that are using the monitors
`are more engaged in their care.’ he
`said. “Patients self-identity problems
`earlier. and it really provides a way for
`us to be more proactive in their man-
`agement — and gets them involved
`as well.‘
`“Patients have also indicated that
`they appreciate that there is some-
`body else monitoring them on a fairly
`continuous basis. receiving calts
`from the call center. which we‘ve
`received positive feedback on as
`
`well.‘ Scneitei added.
`in making the case for the ‘turns.’
`Johnson cites one cardiac patient
`wno'd Been transported by neiicop—
`ter to a hospital iive times in one
`year. costing the system $22,000
`per flight and spending a totat cf 53
`days Er. the hospital. Tne patient. he
`said. suffered lrorn a laundry list oi
`chronic conditions — COPD. diabe-
`tes. hypertension. congestive near‘.
`failure and weight prcbiems.
`The patient was assigned a “tur-
`t‘e" three years ago.
`“For over three years. he stayed
`out of the hospital and oil
`the
`Mectivac flight." Johnson said.
`Schetfei said he sees similar
`results.
`“Our team has been alerted to
`deteriorations in people‘s canoe
`tions that we may not have picked
`up on as early and (we) were able to
`change their therapy and get them
`involved in other diagnostic tests.‘ he
`said. ‘. can deliantly testify that, from
`a physician's perspective and having
`to work in some of the remoter areas
`of Alaska. it's tough to try and make
`the decision whether to Medivac:
`someone out. if we can preventthat
`by picking up signs of stress at an
`earlier stage. then that's got to oe a
`good thing.’
`Working alongside Johnson's
`AFHCP. the ANT!-‘C administers
`the AFHCAN Telehealth Solutions
`program has recorded more than
`100.000 ieteheatih encounters since
`its inception in 2001 » saving more
`than 36 million annually in travei and
`heattroare ex:e"ses. "‘e -1.=~C‘:'3
`Alaska Native Medical Center in
`Anchorage is the state's cniy Level
`
`Thu ViTetCare T400 Tunic.‘
`
`ll Trauma Center. receiving about
`3.000 remote cases a year for tele-
`health consults. or which 20 percent
`are-turned around in one hour and ?5
`percent are turned around in a day.
`Aside lrorn the home heatth moni-
`toring program (otwhlch the AFHCP‘3
`"turtles" clay 3 large role). the state’:
`telerealtri nitiatives irciuce an exter-
`slve vldeoconlerenclng system. in
`addition. AFHCAN has tent its hard-
`ware. software and training expertise
`to other Indian Health Service proj-
`ects in the lower 48 states. recently
`helped send 35 telernediclne carts to
`tne Maldives. an island nation oft the
`coast of India. and has seen -ts tCon«
`:-utt software used by ‘re Canadian
`Space Agency.
`
`A
`
`“Alaskans can be proud that
`AFCl-lAN's cutting-edge telemedi-
`cine technology came out of our
`state,‘ said Mandy Constantine. the
`organizations director ol telehealth
`program development. "it was cre-
`ated to address unique issues that
`arise from being the biggest US,
`state. which is aiso 47m out oi 50
`states in road miles and 48th
`in
`doctors-to-people ratio.‘
`Johnson hopes to draw on the
`“turtles” success to push lor more
`telenealth projects in the state.
`including an ambitious plan to
`push c!‘inic—oased behavioral health
`services out to the field through a
`telebehavioral health solution. with
`reimbursement being the biggest
`
`impediment to physician adoption.
`he's looking at pilot projects in other
`pans oi the country that have tried
`paying providers a set lee for each
`referred patient. or even creating an
`awards program.
`"This technology isn't a cure for a
`bad patient. nor vxili it (entice) a phy—
`siclan who doesn't want to use it.
`We need to educate everyone about
`the benefits. and to find a little bit cl
`reimbursement to help the providers
`move in this direcrcn .' -Johnson said.
`At the end ol the day. he said.
`“communication is the key."
`"Anytime you can touch a patient.
`help them along. motivate them to
`improve their heaizh. that‘: what this
`is ail about.‘ Johrscn said. -
`
`V 'APPTIX'
`
`Protect patient privacy while improving
`communication
`d collaboration efforts w th
`ased solutions.
`
`Apptix compliant. Clou
`
`www.apptix.ccm
`
`Qi 1.855.927.7649
`
`6 Compliance & Archiving
`lntrastntcture
`
`2