The Value of Health IT in Action

National Health IT Week (September 26-30) is a collaborative forum that brings together key healthcare constituents to advance health through the best use of information technology (IT).  Cisco is one of more than 400 healthcare stakeholders expressing the benefits that health information technology (IT) brings to healthcare delivery.

Hospitals and healthcare providers are using Health IT to expand their outreach within and outside their healthcare organizations.  As National Health IT Week comes to a close later today, we want to share some examples of how Cisco can help you implement Health IT changes for accessing quality care and bringing expert care to your patients.

Niki Fassler, a 12-year old student with Down syndrome, was diagnosed with leukemia and was unable to attend school due to the severity of his illness and potential risks associated with being present in a classroom.  Using a Cisco video collaboration solution allows Niki to be part of the class and to actively participate in lessons while receiving chemotherapy and other treatments at St. Anna Hospital. The technology is simple and secure, allowing Niki to call into his classroom by himself, speak and engage with classmates, and see the entire classroom with a panning camera.  Being included in the classroom has had an incredibly positive influence on his mental and physical health.

Ten-year old Peyton Walton used Cisco video conferencing to shrink the 600 miles between her hospital bed and her classmates.  By using innovative video technology to attend class during cancer treatments, Peyton stayed connected with her school, teachers and friends while she fought to become cancer free.  Peyton’s story is a story of courage and commitment and the power of connection. Giving Peyton the opportunity to be included in the classroom had a huge impact on her treatment.

Teleradiology pioneer vRad is using live video radiology diagnostics to reduce patient anxiety while assuring more effective care through face-to-face collaboration.  Combining teleradiology—which provides immediate access to a subspecialty-trained radiologist—with live video conferencing, makes investigating anomalies more efficient and collaboration more effective, assuring quicker diagnosis. Enabling the patient to communicate with the experts with real-time video assures a more human connection on such personal topics.

In President Obama’s National Health IT Week statement earlier this week, he stressed the importance of accessing information quickly and securely through electronic health records.  Union Hospital in Maryland turned to Cisco to implement a data center solution that provides a reliable, secure foundation for their Meditech electronic health records (EHR) system and the picture archiving and communications system (PACS) used for storing medical images.  Cisco technology ensures an IT infrastructure that is fast, available, scalable, and secure.

Want to learn more?
Cisco can help your healthcare organization to coordinate services across the care continuum, connect clinicians with patients, and enable analysis of data in order to incorporate new and innovative ways to improve the efficiency of care delivery.  Let us know how we can help you get started on your digital transformation.