The ATA 2011 virtual conference report

April 29, 2011 | by

While New York-based Ed. Donna were not in Tampa for ATA 2011, Eds. Donna and Steve kept up with conference news from various sources and Tweetstreams galore. Starting Friday/Saturday with pre-show news, this area will be updated continuously starting Monday through end of week. Most recent information will be first.

**Updated 6 May**

Friday 6 May: Editor, Donna Cusano

  • The next generation of telehealth cometh–or RIP, Intel Health Guide PHS6000: Raising some surprise on the ATA show floor was the demise of intel-health-guide-blood-pressure-monitoringone of the pioneers–the stand-alone Intel Health Guide PHS6000 which Intel formally introduced in 2008 after testing since 2005. Intel-GE Care Innovations representatives told our sources that sales of the ‘white box’ were concluded and current installations would be transitioning over to the PC platform, now called the Intel-GE Care Innovations Guide, no longer the ‘Health Guide Express’ of only two months ago [TA 5 Mar]. The 2 May release plumps the new Guide as ‘commercially available’ without mentioning any of this of course, along with the first customer, Virtual Health, a new concierge-style health and wellness service provider for a dual audience–seniors and new mothers–which will deploy it starting in May. Confirming that the PHS6000 is moving into the history books is the device’s absence from the ‘Intel Health Guide’ tab on the website and the depiction of the Care Innovations Guide–although the scrubbing is incomplete, as the PHS6000 lives on in the tech specs and a solution brief. It’s another indicator that the technology is moving on to different and more usable forms, even though the (paying) markets are still scarce on the ground. And the other early ’00s pioneer in their stable–GE QuietCare–if and when will be their next gen?

More information on the CI Guide from the release: it’s platformed on Windows 7, requires an SD card slot and webcam, and is available on notebooks, tablets, netbooks, desktops, and all-in-one devices, preferably with a touch screen. Connectivity is to specific models of peripheral medical devices such as weight scales, blood pressure monitors etc. Also mentioned is synchronization of their data with ‘existing IT infrastructure’ but not specifically EHRs.

  • Where’s Waldo (Health)? For their second ATA and ready to market with the 510(k) in hand, Waldo Health is adding ECG to its peripherals connecting to its touchscreen PC-type monitor –a combination of a Zephyr heart rate belt with Monebo cardiac ECG software. It is probably a first in telehealth and certainly in the portable monitor type–and with a big benefit: reading and recording discrepancies in the heart scan which are even earlier indicators of congestive heart failure (CHF), before the telltale weight gain or breathing difficulties that presage greater trouble. Our source visiting their booth had his ‘socks blown off’ by this. Press announcement scheduled later this month. Hat tip to reader John Boden of ElderIssues.
  • Cisco’s telehealth head Kaveh Safavi on the possibilities, challenges and opportunities for telehealth: replacing and doing more of what you do today, plus things you couldn’t even think of. Destination ATA.
  • Scottish Development International (SDI) had a major presence on the ATA floor, marketing the research power of their universities like GCU plus their success stories with companies like Celestor, Mobile Health Care Networks, Emotional Sciences, Robomotics and Antara Consulting. The enthusiasm of their representatives really comes through on their seven videos from the show floor on SDI’s YouTube channel (right up there with David Pogue); nevertheless some American viewers may feel the need for subtitles.
  • Who pays (one of our Four Big Questions)…remains difficult. There may be some opportunities in the ‘reform’ Federal legislation, in HITECH with the Beacon Community Program, and California is looking into updating its 1996 bill to include current practice (’bout time, dudes!). While 34 other states have some Medicaid reimbursement, it is so restrictive it hardly makes sense for providers to attempt it. ACOs and Medicaid Health Homes may be other options but certainly not cure-alls. At ATA show, telemedicine reimbursement takes center stage Search HealthIT
  • And wrapping up…Destination ATA show floor video (05:38): Referenced by Ed. Steve below. Companies featured are MedVision, SDI, MinXRay, VoCare, VGo and concluding with a steel band for a festive finish.

Thursday 5 May: Editor, Steve Hards

Some more videos from the conference, courtesy of Healthcare IT News in addition to the Martin Cooper/David Pogue one and the Exhibit Hall Highlights referenced by Donna previously. For a bit of levity, readers may also want to see ‘David Pogue wants an iPhone’.

Tuesday 3 May: Editor, Donna Cusano

  • More on Bosch Healthcare’s enhanced clinical web application for care management which is being previewed at ATA. The new platform has been in use in Europe and the UK for the past year, and integrates data from both Health Buddy and the ViTelCare T400 in greater depth and detail than is currently featured. According to Skip Coleman, Bosch’s Account and Implementation manager, it is designed for ease of use by care managers, administrators, nurses and physicians who can selectively look at individuals and populations as needed; the architecture will also permit expansion to mobile. The plan is for current US Health Buddy and ViTelCare clients to migrate to the new platform by end of year. Thanks to Skip, Melanie Fagen of Bosch’s marketing department and Julie Zappelli of GCI.
  • Vidyo, the Hackensack, New Jersey video conferencing company, and American Well announced their agreement to incorporate Vidyo’s HD communications platform into American Well’s Online Care Suite for video/audio physician-patient consults. American Well taps Vidyo for enhanced video conferencing, Destination ATA. Prior to ATA, Boston-based Partners Healthcare announced they were upgrading its current telestroke program to Vidyo’s platform to create a more mobile, secure network that allows doctors to consult with patients and community hospitals far more flexibly–from the exam room, a computer at home, or a mobile application on the go, as long as they have a webcam and a basic internet connection. And patients would pay out of pocket for the service. Boston Globe
  • On Monday, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) announced that they have named Alcatel-Lucent (plus their Bell Labs subsidiary) to create a single platform for all its 16 telemedicine service lines, including a secure web portal from which patients can access scheduled and emergency care through a number of mobile devices, using real-time audio and video. Destination ATA
  • CMS announced a final rule streamlining physician credentialing for telemedicine. The hospital receiving the telemedicine services “may rely upon” information provided by the consulting hospital when making privileging decisions for physicians offering the consultations. Health Data Management
  • InTouch Health premiered the RP-Xpress, a portable telemedicine device using standard 802.11 Wi-Fi for video consults in clinical environments. Release.

Monday 2 May: Editor, Donna Cusano

  • At the Sunday afternoon plenary:
    • ATA’s president Dale Alverson, M.D. called current conditions the ‘perfect storm’ for telemedicine and the transformation of healthcare delivery. Factors: economic downturn, aging population, the critical shortage of healthcare providers. Health information and new technologies will facilitate transformation and get us through these challenges. ‘Health diplomacy’ is needed: “We need to work together. And the reason we need to do that is that most health issues are global. And we can share knowledge and information in meaningful ways that you couldn’t before.”
    • **Updated 6 May** Jitterbug founder and inventor of the modern mobile phone circa 1972, the legendary Dr. Martin Cooper was interviewed by New York Times personal technology columnist (songwriter, keyboardist and singer) David Pogue. Dr. Cooper’s future vision lies in “personalization and customization” around how individuals prefer to use their devices. See an original Motorola StarTac (a/k/a The Brick) Video. (04:25) Mobihealthnews‘ interview with Dr. Cooper, focusing on mobile health, is notable for two quotes:
      • “Health apps are superficial and incomplete. It’s so easy to come up with an app that attacks the surface or the easy stuff. To create something that people will really use is hard.”
      • “People think of technology as being science and engineering, but technology doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t involve people. Technology is the application of science to create products, services, and devices that make people’s lives better. You can’t separate the two.”
    • ATA’s annual awards presented to Dena Puskin, ScD of HHS, Hubble Telemedical, Michael D. Abramoff, MD, PhD, Alice Borrelli of Intel, University of Arkansas for Medical Science,and the ATA Telehealth Nursing SIG. The 2011 ATA College of Fellows were inducted. At opening plenary, ATA speakers tout growth and change, Healthcare IT News
  • Sunday also showcased global connected health at the International Telemedicine Forum, with speakers from Latin America, India, Australia and China describing how telemedicine is used–from texting to connecting distant clinics with hospitals or patients directly to specialists. It concluded with a signing ceremony for the ATA’s new MoU partners: the eHealth Association of Pakistan, the Telemedicine Society of India, the Armenian Association of Telemedicine, the UK’s Telecare Services Association and the Telemedicine Society of Nepal. ATA’s international delegates display global power of telemedicine
  • A Monday executive roundtable lamented lack of standards for remote monitoring will slow growth, but conceded that ‘medical reform’s’ ACOs, medical networks and documenting better outcomes will help to drive telehealth and telemedicine. Particpants: Louis J. Burns, CEO of Intel-GE Care Innovations: Allen Izadpanah, president and CEO of ViTel Net, Daniel L. Cosentino, MBA, CEO and president of Cardiocom; Jasper zu Putlitz, M.D. of Bosch Healthcare.
  • Robert Bosch Healthcare announced both an improved clinical web application for patient assessment and workflow for Health Buddy and ViTelCare to integrate both platforms, as well as a new advanced weight scale peripheral for Health Buddy. This press release is oddly limited in its information; your editor is angling for more.
  • Short takes from the Tweetstream:

A roundup of press announcements and news coverage prior to the start of ATA 2011. Your editor is Donna Cusano:

  • ATA calling on CMS and Donald Berwick in an open letter to rewrite the ‘restriction-riddled’ Medicare telemedicine statute for ACOs. The restriction on telehealth usage in urban areas alone is absurd. TA 28 April Further commentary in FierceMobileHealthcare.
  • Philips is introducing a cellular modem–confusingly called a ‘cellular accessory’–to connect patient home telehealth data to Philips’ secure server and thereon to a home health provider. Philips is also introducing a steady scale for the home that is designed for frail patients: wireless transmission, measurement up to 440 lbs., integrated handle bars and multilingual audio prompts. Release. Booth #1633.
  • MedApps is interestingly pairing with kiosk designer/builder PhoenixKiosk to create a Personal Health Station, with a blood pressure cuff, weight scale and printer. It is then connected by MedApps’ CloudCare platform and stored to a SmartCard ID or to the patient’s EHR. Release. Booth #1317.
  • Lifecomm–the partnership between Hughes Telematics, Qualcomm and AMAC–just published a study on ‘critical design factors for MPERS’. Older adults want a wearable device that does not ‘stigmatize’ them and integrates into their lives. Release. Booth #1532 (with AMAC)
  • Diabetes monitoring continues to add systems: PositiveID will be demonstrating their iglucose mobile health solution for diabetes management. The device (not yet FDA-approved) wirelessly connects glucometer readings to their database. Booth #1340. Release.
  • Affecting rural telemedicine: Certain to be discussed at ATA is HHS/Health Resources and Services Administration funding of $12 million for up to 40 grants for rural health IT adoption, focusing on EHR meaningful use criteria . iHealthBeat.
  • And as they enter the market with their 510(k) approval in hand, Waldo Health is seeking a VP of Sales. If you are a member of the ATA group on LinkedIn, here is the job posting from COO Alan Weiss. Otherwise, see Alan during ATA at Booth #1125.