United, Cisco launch telehealth network

UnitedHealth Group [NYSE: UNH] and Cisco [NASDAQ: CSCO] on Wednesday announced that they are partnering to build the first national “telehealth” network, an effort to connect patients to doctors and other professionals when in-person visits are not possible.
The new program, called “Connected Care,” is geared to patients in rural, urban-core and other underserved areas, using audio and video technology. United said it is committing “tens of millions of dollars” to the program.
United’s national network includes 590,000 physicians and care professionals and more than 4,900 hospitals. Through Connected Care, those providers will be able to help patients in their workplaces, as well as in rural and retail locations. In-home “visits” are also in the works.
Smaller telehealth networks already exist, but United said its national reach and experience in merging technology with clinical expertise will give Connected Care a much larger scale.
“Connected Care is the house call for the 21st century and is our latest innovation providing people with greater access to quality care,” said Stephen J. Hemsley, CEO of United. “The combination of Cisco’s technology and our national health care resources will make it easier for people to receive care where distance has been an obstacle.”
The key enabling technology will be Cisco’s HealthPresence, which combines video and audio with medical information to replicate an in-person visit with a doctor. The program partners showcased the technology on Capitol Hill on Wednesday on the UnitedHealth Group Connected Care mobile clinic, an 18-wheeler.
“In developing advanced telemedicine technologies, we’re unlocking new possibilities for how patients can interact with doctors and medical staff,” said Dr. Kaveh Safavi, vice president of global health care practice for Cisco Systems Inc. “The in-person visit with a doctor is no longer the sole ‘gold standard’ method for delivering high-quality health care services. Instead, we’ve now introduced a new care at-a-distance health care delivery model that better connects people, information and processes into one continuum of care. This new technology-enabled delivery model will improve productivity and efficiency in health care while at the same time minimizing costs for access to quality care services.”
The program, which also integrates other companies’ technologies, was successfully tested with Cisco employees in San Jose, Calif., over a recent seven-month period, the two partners said. Cisco has also launched telehealth pilots in Aberdeen, Scotland, and New Zealand. United employees in Minneapolis are preparing to participate in a similar pilot.
Connected Care programs are being developed in six locations, including a partnership with Project HOPE to overcome health disparities by bringing technology-enhanced care to underserved populations in New Mexico. That program, which will start in the first quarter of 2010, will focus on screening for diabetes and other chronic diseases.
To learn more about Connected Care, go to www.ConnectedCareAmerica.com.