Slough, UK -
06 Sep 2011 : Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), a global leader in
unified communications (UC), and the International Virtual e-Hospital
(IVeH) have partnered on a new model that enables medical professionals
to collaborate via video and share their expertise across 35 healthcare
and academic institutions globally, thanks to an innovative Polycom
video collaboration program that has helped rebuild Kosovo's medical
system. With its success clearly demonstrated, the model is now being
deployed more broadly in new regions outside the Balkans including
Africa, the Middle East, South Eastern Europe, and South America.
The world-renowned International Virtual e-Hospital (IVeH) was
established in 2001 by Dr. Rifat Latifi to create sustainable
telemedicine and e-health programs around the world and to rebuild
medical systems in developing countries. Launched as the Telemedicine
Program of Kosovo (TPK), the program has since connected seven Kosovan
hospitals via telemedicine and provided access to an electronic medical
library for distance learning with video facilities in Albania, Austria,
Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Saudi Arabia,
Switzerland, UK, and US.
Each telemedicine center in Kosovo contains video collaboration rooms,
tele-consultation rooms, and telemedicine training rooms, as well as
mobile telepresence units in patient rooms which results in better
patient care and improved trainings and resources for hospital
physicians and staff. The video rooms are equipped with a Polycom
high-definition room video collaboration system supported by a central
Polycom® RSSTM 2000 video recording and streaming solution. The RSS 2000
is a centralized server used by each center for recording, streaming,
and archiving multimedia conferences and training sessions. This saves
time and resources while extending communication and enabling
knowledge-sharing throughout Kosovo and international medical
communities.
"The Polycom video conferencing solution helps us quickly share
knowledge, train the next generation of medical providers, and conduct
consultations with worldwide experts to ultimately improve patient
care," said Dr. Latifi, IVeH founder. "Thanks to the access to the World
Health Organization's (WHO) medical library as well as experts around
the world, regional telemedicine centers are now able to develop their
own educational programs based on this vast resource; this electronic
library logged approximately 54,000 visits within the first three years
of operation. The telemedicine centers provide us with a timely,
reliable, and accessible way to bring content, experts, and
organizations together in a more productive and cost-efficient way."
Background: The Existing Infrastructure
The medical infrastructure of Kosovo was left in a poor state by wars,
underfunding, and bad management. An entire generation of medical
graduates after the Balkan wars of the 1990s had not seen a patient in a
clinical environment throughout their entire education, and many
medical school classes were held in the basements of homes.
Additionally, many older professors, surgeons, and other doctors had not
practiced advanced medicine or surgery for more than a decade. For Dr.
Latifi, telemedicine and medical distance learning were the only
practical solutions for developing countries such as Kosovo.
Delivering Life-Saving Medical Resources
With government approval in place, as well as backing by the European
Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), seven telemedicine centers were
established throughout Kosovo with tele-consultation rooms and
telemedicine training rooms. Mobile Polycom units are also located at
patients' bedsides to allow real-time collaboration with specialist
physicians in other countries. This contributes to better consultations
and improved patient care. The IVeH delivers powerful educational tools
to medical personnel at the right time. As a result, tens of thousands
of doctors, nurses, other healthcare professionals and IT personnel can
be trained on how to use telemedicine and e-health applications through
interactive, hands-on lectures. In addition, the telemedicine program
introduced life-saving resources and procedures to Kosovo hospitals
through external medical libraries and other expert resources.
For more details, visit www.polycom.co.uk
Notes to editors:
Award Winning
IVeH recently celebrated becoming the winners of the 21st Century
Achievement award in the health category, Computerworld Honors Program
awards, presented to Dr. Latifi on 20 June 2011.
The Healthcare and Academic Network
- The University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Dartmouth College New Hampshire, USA
- Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Medical University of Graz Graz, Austria
- University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dental School, Germany
- Department of Prosthetic Dentistry Dresden, Germany
- University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland
- University Hospital "Thomas Jefferson" Philadelphia, USA
- Royal College of London London, United Kingdom
- Terra Nova University Terra Nova, Brazil
- University of Amasonas Manaus, Brazil
- Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
- Johns Hopkins, Faculty of Medicine Baltimore, USA
- University of Tirana Tirana, Albania
- University of Prishtina Prishtine, Kosova
- New York University New York, USA
- Kokkola University Kokkola, Finland
- University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
- DAAD (Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst) Germany
- US Military Medical Battalion, Camp Bondsteel Ferizaj, Kosovo
- St. Michael's Hospital New Jersey, USA
- Center for Quality, Insurance and Accreditation of Albania Tirana, Albania
- Hamburg-Ependorf, Institute of Biochemistry and Endocrinology Hamburg, Germany
- Aethra Corporation, Italy
- University of Lethbridge Alberta, Canada
- Tromso Hospital, Finland
- Hitchcock Vermont, USA
- Meditac Virginia, USA
- Nebraska University Nebraska, USA
- Rikshospitalet Oslo, Norway
- Rochester Institute of Technology New York, USA
- University of Gjovik, Finland
- World Bank Washington, USA
- WIRED Washington, USA
About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. is a global leader in unified communications solutions with industry-leading telepresence, video, voice, and infrastructure
solutions built on open standards. Polycom powers smarter
conversations, transforming lives and businesses worldwide. Please
visit www.polycom.com for more information or connect with Polycom on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
NOTE: The product plans, specifications and descriptions herein are
provided for information only and subject to change without notice, and
are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied.
© 2011 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom
"Triangles" logo and the names and marks associated with Polycom's
products are trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are
registered and/or common law marks in the United States and various
other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective
owners.
Contacts
