System Optimization Will Enhance Care and Streamline Workflow

Andover, Mass., and Hackensack, N.J. – Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG,  AEX: PHI) and Vidyo are collaborating to offer health system providers an approach for extending telehealth solutions across the enterprise to improve patient care and clinician workflow while also reducing costs. Enterprise-wide deployment of these next-generation telehealth services will require scalable and flexible advanced video technology to adapt to the full range of clinical workstations and mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Philips enterprise telehealth solutions will incorporate remote physiologic monitoring, advanced clinical decision support, and Vidyo’s Adaptive Video Layering Technology™, into a powerful clinical platform for communications and collaboration. This interoperable platform, based on the proven eICU® program, will aggregate clinical informatics solutions designed to improve the quality of patient care, and key performance indicators such as patient mortality, length of stay, hospital-acquired infections, and hospital readmissions across health system enterprises.

“We are excited to collaborate with Vidyo to leverage its cutting-edge telepresence technologies to enhance the flexibility and scalability of our telehealth solutions,” said Mike Mancuso, senior vice president & general manager, Enterprise Patient Informatics Solutions and Patient Monitoring Systems, for Philips Healthcare. “Philips is committed to working with industry leaders to better address healthcare needs by expanding telehealth services beyond the ICU, as well as externally to remote clinics, physician offices, and into the home.”

Vidyo’s unique Adaptive Video Layering Technology dynamically optimizes the video for each endpoint.  By continuously monitoring the performance of the underlying network and capabilities of endpoint devices, video streams are adapted in real-time to optimize communications.   The Vidyo Application Programming Interface (API) supports greater customization and integration of telehealth solutions into clinical work flows.  Additionally, solutions can be deployed on both private and public networks, using standard off-the-shelf hardware — allowing for simple, cost-effective implementation and maintenance.

“The collaboration between Philips and Vidyo is not only a boon to our respective companies, but to the telehealth industry, in general,” said Dr. Amnon Gavish, Vidyo’s Senior VP of Vertical Solutions. “Telehealth has now come of age, driven by global demand and, in the U.S., empowered by new laws and legislation like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). There is an ever-increasing need for easier access to affordable, high-quality telehealth which the Philips-Vidyo platform will uniquely satisfy. Healthcare providers and patients alike will benefit from this solution’s extremely natural interaction experience, enabled by the very low latency of Vidyo’s technology. This high-quality experience enhances the remote physician – patient interaction, promoting a higher level of patient trust.”

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity.” Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 122,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 22.6 billion in 2011, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Vidyo, Inc.

Vidyo, Inc., pioneered Personal Telepresence enabling natural, HD multi-point videoconferences on tablets and smart phones, PCs and Macs, room systems, gateways that interoperate with H.323 and SIP endpoints, telepresence solutions and affordable cloud-based broadcast solutions.  Vidyo for Healthcare™ eliminates the access, performance and cost issues of traditional systems that require expensive MCU equipment and dedicated QoS.  With its amazing quality, unmatched accessibility and market-shifting cost-efficiency, Vidyo for Healthcare (see video) provides hospitals, specialized medical centers and physician clinics with low latency telepresence-quality video conferencing from any mobile, desktop or room-based endpoint over the Internet, WiFi and 4G networks.  Vidyo delivers end-to-end encryption, provides HIPAA-compliant security, and easily integrates into existing healthcare environments with support for a variety of medical devices and interoperability with existing conferencing infrastructure. Learn more at www.vidyo.com, on the Blog or follow @vidyo on Twitter.

The VIDYO logo is a registered trademark of Vidyo, Inc.  VIDYO and the trademarks of the VIDYO family of products are trademarks of Vidyo, Inc.  eICU is a registered trademark  of Philips.  All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Consult A Doctor, an innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and delivery platforms solutions for all major healthcare stakeholders, today announced that Employee Benefit Design (EBD), LLC, a large independent firm and innovative leader in employee benefits and benefits communication solutions in Springfield, Missouri, successfully negotiated agreements with Missouri’s major commercial insurance carriers to make Consult A Doctor 24/7 a free telemedicine benefit for employers. Some of those carriers include United, Coventry, Aetna, Cigna and Anthem BlueCross BlueShield.

With telemedicine’s expanded reach and growth in popularity, health insurers across the nation are finding that it is an essential offering to add to their benefit packages. As demonstrated by EBD’s success in Missouri, Consult A Doctor’s telemedicine solutions can offer tremendous benefits to businesses by providing:

- competitive differentiator for health plans, employers and insurance brokers
- an attractive consumer offering that enables 24/7 access to the largest national network of U.S. board certified physicians from anywhere via phone, secure email, video and mobile app
- cost savings for businesses that adopt Consult A Doctor’s telemedicine solutions
- improved access to care for employees and/or health plan members which leads to a reduced duration of illness and less unnecessary time out of work

State Insurers Collaborate With Employee Benefit Design to Offset Costs of Consult A Doctor For Employers

Miami, March 15, 2012 — As telemedicine continues to expand its reach and grow in popularity, health insurers are finding that it is an essential offering to add to their benefit packages. Employee Benefit Design (EBD), LLC, a large independent firm and innovative leader in employee benefits and benefits communication solutions in Springfield, Missouri, is a testament to the tremendous business benefits of telemedicine. After securing several new employer benefit contracts by offering Consult A Doctor 24/7, a telemedicine service that provides patients 24/7 access to the largest national network of U.S. board certified physicians from anywhere via phone, secure email, video and mobile app, EBD was also able to demonstrate the value of Consult A Doctor 24/7 to Missouri’s major commercial insurance carriers, negotiating agreements with each to make Consult A Doctor 24/7 a free benefit for employers.

“After offering Consult A Doctor’s telemedicine solution to our own employees at EBD, we not only saw immediate cost savings but our employees instantly realized improved access to care, resulting in reduced duration of illness and less unnecessary time out of work. Following this experience at EBD, it became clear that we needed to start including Consult A Doctor in our healthcare solution offerings,” said Dan Ruggeri, Missouri partner for EBD. “Adding the Consult A Doctor service to our benefit packages gives us a significant competitive edge—with one major government employer going so far as to specifically reference telemedicine service in its RFP.  Seeing the substantial savings due to lower medical costs that our firm and our clients were realizing, it seemed like there was a strong case to be made for health plans to incentive adoption of this service.  Today, the major plans in our state provide a credit for the cost of the Consult A Doctor service from the employers’ monthly premiums, and the demand for our services—featuring this now free benefit—has taken off.”

In addition to securing this agreement with major carriers like United, Coventry, Aetna, Cigna and Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, Ruggeri also won new contracts for several major employers in the region, including a large local government customer that ultimately signed with EBD because of the Consult A Doctor service benefit. EBD expects to see continued competitive differentiation and sales success by featuring the Consult A Doctor telemedicine service offering.

“We have been talking about the demonstrated ability of our telemedicine service to lower costs for employers, insurers and brokers for some time now and it is extremely gratifying to see that understanding catch on across the country,” said Wolf Shlagman, founder and CEO, Consult A Doctor. “Dan Ruggeri and EBD are shining examples of the cost savings and business opportunities that Consult A Doctor’s telemedicine innovations can bring to any community.  The fact that the major health plans in Missouri are making this a free benefit is another exciting milestone in the rapid spread and adoption of telemedicine across the U.S.”

The Consult A Doctor service has not only demonstrated its value for large employers, it has also proven essential for small businesses.  EBD itself has derived significant business from the service in the form of reduced medical costs—and even more importantly—increased productivity.

“As a self-employed individual with a $2,500 deductible, going to the doctor for even minor illnesses becomes a costly and timely inconvenience,” said Ruggeri. “Those three hours that I would typically spend shuttling myself to and from my primary care physician to fill a prescription or get basic treatment for a sinus infection is three hours of lost production time. Additionally, Consult A Doctor 24/7 also helps keep my family healthy as it helps me keep my children away from unnecessary germ exposure, whether it be in the doctor’s office or the emergency room. I just simply call, video, or email Consult A Doctor and within minutes, I get the care I need.”

Consult A Doctor 24/7, the market’s first mature direct-to-consumer telemedicine service, was developed by Consult A Doctor, an innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and delivery platforms solutions for all major healthcare stakeholders. Powered by TeleCare 3.0, a cloud-based platform that meets the highest standards for security and HIPPA compliance, the Consult A Doctor 24/7 service has been fundamental in accelerating the company’s efforts to transforming access and affordability in healthcare. Having perfected this platform with over 200,000 consultations over the past five years, Consult A Doctor now provides customized versions of its telemedicine platform to meet the specific needs of all the major constituents in healthcare, including practices, hospitals, clinics, health plans and employers.

About Consult A Doctor

Consult A Doctor is the leading innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and technology platform solutions empowering organizations to lower healthcare costs, provide revolutionary access and improve outcomes. With years of experience delivering direct-to-employer and consumer telemedicine services that offer convenient 24/7 access to doctor consultations by phone, email and video, Consult a Doctor has saved employers millions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare costs, and added millions of dollars of productivity to the bottom line by helping keep employees at work and healthy. Its telemedicine network of U.S. board certified physicians in all 50 states has made it possible to give on-demand care, anytime, anywhere with access to medically-equivalent care in the lowest cost setting. Consult A Doctor is further transforming the economic equation of care by partnering with payers, providers and other organizations to deploy its telemedicine platform solution that grants its members and patients unmatched access to quality care, offers a new revenue source for providers, and lowers costs for health plans, employers and groups. For more information about Consult A Doctor, please visit www.consultadr.com, email telecare@consultadr.com or call 888-688-DOCT (3628).

Employee Benefit Design, LLC

Employee Benefit Design, L.L.C, is a locally owned, community-based, independent firm specializing in employee benefits and benefits communication solutions. Many insurance companies recognize us as a “preferred” agency. All of our fulltime staff is licensed and completes ongoing continuing education requirements. Several of our employees hold professional designations and serve on producer advisory boards and committees for insurance companies. This allows us to give input directly to the insurance companies for the benefit of our clients. With several professional designations being held, a considerable number of combined years of experience in the industry, and outstanding employees, Employee Benefit Design, L.L.C, is truly an organization that strives to “earn and keep your business.” Employee Benefit Design is a proud member of United Benefit Advisors (UBA). UBA is an alliance of independent benefit advisory firms throughout the country.

Consult A Doctor, an innovator of telemedicine services and technology solutions, today announced the availability of MyHealthPlan 24/7, a cloud-based telemedicine platform solution designed to support health plans in reducing costs and meeting market demand for more affordable, efficient and immediate access to quality healthcare. MyHealthPlan 24/7 is the most complete telemedicine solution in the market, giving payer organizations the ability to offer their members on-demand access to their provider network or alternatively, Consult A Doctor’s national network of on-call physicians.

Here is a high-level list of benefits for each stakeholder:

Benefits for Employers, Groups and Members
•  24/7 physician access
•  Faster care
•  Patient portal
•  Mobile Application

Benefits for Providers
•  Additional revenue
•  Enhanced care management
•  Flexibility

Leveraging Consult A Doctor’s Revolutionary TeleCare 3.0 Platform, MyHealthPlan 24/7 Reduces Costs, Enables 24/7 Access to Provider Networks via Phone, Email, Video and App

Miami, March 7, 2012 — Consult A Doctor, an innovator of telemedicine services and technology solutions, today announced the availability of MyHealthPlan 24/7, a cloud-based telemedicine platform solution designed to support health plans in reducing costs and meeting market demand for more affordable, efficient and immediate access to quality healthcare. MyHealthPlan 24/7 is the most complete telemedicine solution in the market, giving payer organizations the ability to offer their members on-demand access to their provider network or alternatively, Consult A Doctor’s national network of on-call physicians.

MyHealthPlan 24/7 offers health plans the freedom to improve access for their members and offer a significant convenience and revenue benefit to their provider network, all while reducing the total cost of care by ensuring that members stay healthier with the right care, in the right setting, at the right time.  As health plans add this powerful telemedicine platform solution to their benefit package, they are able to grow their customer base while improving client retention and increasing profitability.

Benefits for Employers, Groups and Members

With MyHealthPlan 24/7, health plans can differentiate themselves from competitors by offering a number of distinctive benefits for employers, groups and members, including:
•       24/7 physician access: members will have 24/7 access to participating physicians from anywhere via phone, email, mobile app or video chat so members can be treated from home or work without having to seek treatment in higher-cost settings, such as the ER, urgent care clinic or doctor’s office
•       Faster care: access to proper healthcare services at any time, from anywhere often means shortening the duration of the illness, saving time and lowering out-of-pocket expenses while reducing absenteeism and costs for employers
•       Patient portal: members will have access to a comprehensive patient portal that features a full suite of health management and wellness resources, including a consult center to schedule appointments, email a doctor or access the “click to call” functionality to instantaneously connect members to a doctor; an online symptom checker; and a comprehensive medical library that helps members better manage their health
•       Mobile Application: members with iPhones can obtain 24/7 phone and secure email access to licensed physicians directly from their iPhone, making it even easier to consult immediately with a network of U.S. based, state-licensed doctors for medical information, diagnosis and/or treatment

Benefits for Providers

MyHealthPlan 24/7 also offers extensive benefits for providers allowing health plans and integrated health systems to attract new patients, new revenue and expanded services to their provider network. Some of these additional benefits include:
•       Additional revenue: providers generate incremental revenue from member subscriptions plus direct compensation for each medical consultation conducted via phone, email or video
•       Enhanced care management: the HIPAA-secure telemedicine platform helps physicians deliver the most informed, efficient care possible with an integrated dashboard that displays comprehensive medical records and prescribing history for each patient consult
•       Flexibility: the platform gives providers increased coverage flexibility and the ability to serve non-plan patients conveniently and inexpensively

“Due to the combination of healthcare reform and economic forces, we’ve seen a growing number of health plans that are aggressively seeking out ways to reduce claims costs for their fully-insured book of business which includes small businesses, individuals, families and Medicaid/Medicare contracts,” said Wolf Shlagman, founder and CEO, Consult A Doctor. “Also, as demonstrated by the numerous RFPs we’re receiving for our telemedicine solutions, self-insured employers are equally eager to adopt innovative telehealh/telemedicine solutions that will ease the financial pressure associated with the rising costs and lack of access to quality healthcare. According to a recent study by Kaiser, employer-sponsored health coverage for family premiums has increased by 113% since 2001 – a jump from about $6,000 to $15,000 per family per year compared to about 27% inflation, meaning healthcare costs outpaced income by 400%!  MyHealthPlan 24/7 is the solution that will enable cost reductions for the entire healthcare ecosystem – health plans, employers, groups, members and providers – while ensuring 24/7 access to quality healthcare in the most efficient and appropriate care setting.”

“The concept was the same when I co-founded the MinuteClinic,” said Dr. Smith, chief medical officer, Consult A Doctor, who is also credited as the founder of the retail clinic business model. “The goal of the retail clinic business model was to offer the highest quality care in a medically appropriate setting to keep patients healthy while keeping costs low and sustainable. Telemedicine is the natural evolution of that idea.”

TeleCare 3.0 Platform

Powered by Consult A Doctor’s TeleCare 3.0 cloud-based platform, MyHealthPlan 24/7 gives payer organizations the freedom to improve access and convenience for members while reaping a significant revenue benefit. The highly scalable TeleCare 3.0 platform meets the highest standards for security and HIPAA compliance, is SAS 70 Level II certified and easily integrates with existing systems. The platform also includes the following:

Features:
•       Telemedicine platform and communication center
•       Marketing and patient enrollment website
•       EMR and clinical tools
•       Online scheduling and secure messaging
•       Mobile application, phone, online and video consults
•       Patient portal and Personal Health Manager
•       24/7 Doctor On-Call Hotline for patients
•       Request and refill e-Prescription and eLabs
•       Online Personal Health Record
•       Health library and wellness tools

MyHealthPlan 24/7 is the latest addition to a series of cloud-based telemedicine solutions from Consult A Doctor designed to improve access for patients while opening new revenue streams for providers and reducing costs for employers and insurers. In February 2012 at HIMSS12 in Las Vegas, Consult A Doctor announced the availability of MyHospital 24/7, a revolutionary platform that allows hospitals and health systems to offer fast, affordable access to physicians or to Consult A Doctor’s national network of physicians via phone, secure email, video or mobile app.

About Consult A Doctor

Consult A Doctor is the leading innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and technology platform solutions empowering organizations to lower healthcare costs, provide revolutionary access and improve outcomes. With years of experience delivering direct-to-employer and consumer telemedicine services that offer convenient 24/7 access to doctor consultations by phone, email and video, Consult a Doctor has saved employers millions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare costs.  Its telemedicine network of U.S. board certified physicians in all 50 states has made it possible to give on-demand care, anytime, anywhere with access to medically-equivalent care in the lowest cost setting. Consult A Doctor is further transforming the economic equation of care by partnering with payers, providers, health systems and other organizations to deploy its telemedicine platform solution that grants its members and patients unmatched access to quality care, offers a new revenue source for providers, and lowers costs for health plans, employers and groups. For more information about Consult A Doctor, please visit www.consultadr.com, email telecare@consultadr.com or call 888-688-DOCT (3628).

Samsung Mobile and Honeywell HomMed are pleased to announce the launch of the Genesis Touch home healthcare solution, running on the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab. Now, the original Galaxy Tab is the first Samsung Mobile device to receive FDA approval clearance as part of an innovative home health solution. Please see below for more details and let me know if you have any questions.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Adds High-touch Technology to Family of Personal Health Devices

LAS VEGAS – February 22, 2012 – Honeywell (NYSE: HON) HomMed, a global leader in telehealth and remote patient care, today announced the newest addition to its Genesis™ product line – the Genesis Touch™– a personal health device designed to address the current and future needs of patients who use telehealth to better manage their healthcare.

The Genesis Touch™ redefines available telehealth technology with a simple-to-use Android-based tablet offering patients and their families increased information and flexibility, while delivering a richer interaction between patients and their healthcare providers.

“The Genesis Touch represents the next step in the progression of remote patient care,” said Terry Duesterhoeft, president of Honeywell HomMed. “Blending the latest in widely-accepted consumer technology with all the traditional telehealth benefits that healthcare providers, patients and their families have come to expect from the Genesis family of products allows Honeywell HomMed to continue redefining how – and where – remote patient monitoring occurs.”

Redefining Telehealth – One Touch at a Time

As with Honeywell’s other Genesis telehealth monitors, the Genesis Touch collects vital signs from patients and transmits it to Honeywell’s LifeStream™ Management Suite, so healthcare providers can track and monitor their patients’ data.  In addition, the Genesis Touch also blends HomMed’s highly-intuitive user interface with the strengths of Samsung Mobile’s Galaxy Tab™ platform and the Verizon network, while acting as a portal to access a wide range of applications, such as Fuze Meeting.

“The Genesis Touch enables patients to leverage existing technology tools to improve their healthcare management,” said Duesterhoeft.  “The touchscreen platform is both efficient and familiar, while the integrated video adds a ‘personal touch’ to patient interactions with their healthcare providers.  And the anywhere-communication aspect addresses the need to have increased mobility in data management, a key offering in today’s healthcare marketplace.”

Key features of the Genesis Touch include:

• Fuze Meeting, a real-time visual collaboration and conferencing application for the Genesis Touch, features simple, integrated video capabilities for face-to-face interaction between a patient and their healthcare provider.

• Capitalizing on Verizon’s reliable 3G network and with integrated Wi-Fi capabilities, the Genesis Touch sports enhanced mobility to allow patients to securely manage their health, whether they are at home in Maine or on vacation in Alaska.

• As an FDA-cleared dedicated personal health device, the Genesis Touch delivers stability and enhanced security for patient users, securing patient data to meet HIPAA requirements.  A tamper-resistant interface protects the device and its information from the threat of viruses.

• The Genesis Touch features an open-development platform for third-party developers to continue to expand the range of applications, devices and services for Genesis Touch patients and healthcare providers.

“Our collaboration with Honeywell HomMed addresses the ever-increasing consumer demand for more efficient mobile healthcare solutions,” said Tim Wagner, vice president and general manager of B2B Sales for Samsung Mobile.  “We believe the premium hardware of the Android-powered Galaxy Tab addresses previous challenges with mobile technology adoption and positively impacts the ability to treat patients. The ability of our device to embody an FDA-cleared healthcare solution speaks to its efficiency, reliability, and versatility.”

“We’re excited to bring the benefits of Fuze Meeting’s multi-party video conferencing capabilities to Honeywell’s LifeStream Management Suite,” said FuzeBox Chief Executive Officer Jeff Cavins.  “By making it easy for patients and their healthcare providers to see and speak to each other in real time, regardless of their locations, we’re able to make a real difference in patients’ everyday lives.”

“Mobility is transforming the patient-care experience,” said Dr. Peter Tippett, vice president and chief medical officer, Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions.  “Combining the power of broadband with personal health devices connects and engages patients and clinicians, resulting in more accessible and efficient care.”

As with all Genesis personal health devices, the Genesis Touch will be supported on the healthcare provider side by the LifeStream Management Suite, a comprehensive platform launched by Honeywell HomMed in 2007, which seamlessly integrates the patient’s monitor-collected information and other point-of-care applications in a single platform, allowing patients, families and healthcare providers easy, secure access to patient information via the Internet.  The Genesis Touch’s interoperability with LifeStream further allows healthcare providers to access a consolidated management dashboard to monitor and triage patients from one cloud-based platform.

About Honeywell:

Honeywell International (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell’s shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

About Honeywell HomMed:

Honeywell HomMed is part of the Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions business group, a global leader in providing product and service solutions that improve efficiency and profitability, support regulatory compliance, and maintain safe, comfortable environments in homes, buildings and industry.

Consult A Doctor, an innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and delivery platforms, today announced the availability of MyHospital 24/7, a revolutionary platform that allows hospitals and health systems to offer fast, affordable access to physicians or to Consult A Doctor’s national network of physicians via phone, secure email, video or mobile app.

Here is a high level list of benefits for each major stakeholder:

- Hospitals are better equipped to meet healthcare reform goals, extend patient access and attract new patients from a broader geographic area while generating new streams of revenue.
- Providers gain access to new revenue streams and have the ability to reduce organizational costs, all while empowering physicians to practice medicine in a convenient, efficient manner.
- Patients experience a significant reduction in out-of-pocket costs as a result of more appropriate, accessible and affordable level of care settings.

Consult A Doctor also today announced the availability of MyClinic 24/7, a version of the cloud-based telemedicine solution designed to meet the needs of medical clinics, including urgent care clinics and ambulatory centers. Like MyHospital 24/7, this solution gives clinics the ability to attract and retain a loyal patient base by offering a wider range of affordable access options, while generating additional revenue for providers.

LAS VEGAS, February 21, 2012 (HIMSS12 Booth #13850) — Consult A Doctor, an innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and delivery platforms, today announced the availability of MyHospital 24/7, a revolutionary platform that allows hospitals and health systems to offer fast, affordable access to physicians or to Consult A Doctor’s national network of physicians via phone, secure email, video or mobile app.

“Telemedicine addresses so many of the healthcare industry’s biggest problems—from the billions of dollars spent annually on unnecessary, inappropriate or wasteful care to the shortage of primary care physicians across the country—it is no wonder that it is attracting so much attention from the healthcare community and funding world,” said Wolf Shlagman, founder and CEO, Consult A Doctor. “For hospitals, MyHospital 24/7 will drive referrals, add new revenue streams and increase patient satisfaction all while reducing the overall cost of care. With the addition of these new products, Consult A Doctor now offers telemedicine solutions for providers, health plans, employers and patients.”

Benefits for Hospitals, Health Systems and Clinics

With MyHospital 24/7, hospitals are better equipped to meet healthcare reform goals, extend patient access and attract new patients from a broader geographic area while generating new streams of revenue. Additional benefits for healthcare organizations include:
•       Expanded reach: healthcare organizations are able to gain new patients and referrals by providing enhanced access and services to patients beyond the traditional 10-mile radius limitation—with telemedicine, geographic and physical boundaries are eliminated, giving patients access to a virtual medical consultation from anywhere, and if needed, a referral to a healthcare professional for additional treatment
•       Enhanced physician relationships: hospitals are able to enhance relationships with community physicians, resulting in increased admissions, referrals, diagnostics and other ancillary services
•       Additional revenue: providers generate incremental revenue as they are compensated for medical consultations conducted via phone, email, video or mobile application
•       ACO-preparedness: organizations seeking to manage costs in a bundled or global payment environment can use this solution to ensure the most appropriate, cost-effective level of care settings
Reduced cost of care: by minimizing the barriers to care, hospitals are able to decrease the number of post-operative complications and related readmissions

Benefits for Providers

MyHospital 24/7 facilitates new revenue streams for providers and reduces organizational costs, all while empowering physicians to practice medicine in a convenient, efficient manner. Additional benefits for providers include:
•       Expand Services: physicians are able to access and treat patients from anywhere, at any time, via phone, secure email or video—restrictions based on physical boundaries of their office no longer exist
•       Comprehensive coverage: physicians have the option of tapping into Consult A Doctor’s national, 24/7/365 network of on-call physicians for after hours, overflow or out-of-state coverage
•       Enhanced care management: the HIPAA-secure telemedicine platform helps physicians deliver the most informed, efficient care possible with an integrated dashboard that displays comprehensive medical records and prescribing history for each patient consult

Benefits for Patients

Telemedicine not only dramatically reduces healthcare costs for hospitals and providers; it significantly reduces out-of-pocket costs for patients by providing more appropriate, accessible and affordable level of care settings. Additional benefits for patients include:
•       24/7 physician access: patients have 24/7 access to U.S. board certified physicians from anywhere via phone, email, video and mobile app meaning they can be treated at the convenience of their home or office—regardless of their geographic location
•       Faster care, healthier patients: access to proper healthcare services at any time, from anywhere often means shortening the duration and severity of illness
•       Interactive patient portal: patients have access to a comprehensive patient portal that features a full suite of interactive health management and wellness resources and tools that helps patients better manage their health plus a complete consult center where they can schedule appointments and manage their medical history

MyClinic 24/7

Today Consult A Doctor also announced the availability of MyClinic 24/7, a version of the cloud-based telemedicine solution designed to meet the needs of medical clinics, including urgent care clinics and ambulatory centers. Like MyHospital 24/7, this solution gives clinics the ability to attract and retain a loyal patient base by offering a wider range of affordable access options, while generating additional revenue for providers.

“I founded the retail clinic mode to enable more efficient, appropriate care settings that could be accessed by patients and providers outside of standard doctor’s office hours,” said Dr. Doug Smith, chief medical officer, Consult A Doctor and co-founder, MinuteClinic. “MyHospital 24/7 and MyClinic24/7 support the goals that were at the genesis of the retail clinic model and then elevate them to the next level of convenience, access and affordability.”

TeleCare 3.0 Platform

Powered by Consult A Doctor’s TeleCare 3.0 cloud-based platform, MyHospital 24/7 and MyClinic 24/7 give healthcare organizations the freedom to improve access and convenience for patients while offering a significant revenue benefit to providers. The highly scalable TeleCare 3.0 platform meets the highest standards for security and HIPAA compliance, is SAS 70 Level II certified and easily integrates with existing systems. The platform also includes the following:

Features:
•       Telemedicine platform and communication center
•       Marketing and patient enrollment website
•       EMR and clinical tools
•       Online scheduling and secure messaging
•       Mobile application, phone, online and video consults
•       Patient portal and Personal Health Manager
•       24/7 Doctor On-Call Hotline for patients
•       Request and refill e-Prescription and eLabs
•       Online Personal Health Record
•       Health library and wellness tools

Benefits:
•       Clinically-centric framework library
•       Management support for multiple, long lasting clinical encounters within a proprietary work flow environment
•       Adaptable and agile process changes with minimum deployment costs via a high-performance rules engine
•       Flexible scheduling facility that offers a variety of provider/service time definitions
•       Ability for clinics and providers to create service definitions, pricing and provider requirements as well as routing rules through the customizable service definition feature
•       Adaptable service definitions that enable the customization of pre-consult requirements and post-consult disposition details

MyHospital 24/7 and MyClinic 24/7 are the latest additions to a suite of cloud-based telemedicine solutions from Consult A Doctor which includes a telemedicine solution configurable for physician practices (MyPractice 24/7) and a forthcoming solution designed to support health plans. To learn more about Consult A Doctor’s telemedicine solutions, visit the company at the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society’s (HIMSS) conference from February 21-23 in Las Vegas in booth #13850.

About Consult A Doctor

Consult A Doctor is the leading innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and technology platform solutions empowering organizations to lower healthcare costs, provide revolutionary access and improve outcomes. With years of experience delivering direct-to-employer and consumer telemedicine services that offer convenient 24/7 access to doctor consultations by phone, email and video, Consult a Doctor has saved employers millions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare costs, and added millions of dollars of productivity to the bottom line by helping keep employees at work and healthy. Its telemedicine network of U.S. board certified physicians in all 50 states has made it possible to give on-demand care, anytime, anywhere with access to medically-equivalent care in the lowest cost setting. Consult A Doctor is further transforming the economic equation of care by partnering with payers, providers and other organizations to deploy its telemedicine platform solution that grants its members and patients unmatched access to quality care, offers a new revenue source for providers, and lowers costs for health plans, employers and groups. For more information about Consult A Doctor, please visit www.consultadr.com, email telecare@consultadr.com or call 888-688-DOCT (3628).

• Sprint is collaborating with innovative companies to bridge the gap as healthcare evolves to a virtual model and focuses on improving quality, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
• New agreements with Acadian Monitoring, DayaMed and HealthSpot represent how emerging technology and M2M enable consumer-driven solutions.
• Sprint’s advanced wireless management strategy helps hospitals and providers make sense of, manage and contain costs for wireless networks, devices and services.

New agreements with Acadian Monitoring, DayaMed and HealthSpot represent how emerging technology and M2M enable consumer-driven solutions

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), February 16, 2012 – Sprint (NYSE: S) has been supporting the traditional healthcare delivery model for many years with a reliable network and secure messaging. Now Sprint is working with innovative companies to bridge the gap as healthcare evolves to a virtual model and focuses on improving quality, increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Emerging consumer-driven technologies are enabling patients to become better informed and more active in the healthcare process. With that in mind, Sprint announced new agreements with Acadian Monitoring, LLC, Daya Medicals, Inc. and HealthSpot, Inc.

DayaMed is working with Sprint to develop embedded wireless connectivity for the MedPod. (Photo: Business Wire)

• Sprint and M2M solution provider Reflection Solutions are collaborating with Acadian Monitoring Services’ Health Monitoring Center to provide 24/7 health monitoring. Together they will offer remote monitoring capabilities that operate over the Sprint wireless network. Acadian Monitoring Services has teams of trained Emergency Medical Dispatch certified healthcare professionals, including paramedics, who monitor data coming from the patients, including a patient’s location, health, physical activity, fall detection and medical alerts. The team is under the direction of Acadian’s medical director and is managed by a Registered Nurse. Acadian Monitoring Services’ Health Monitoring Center provides home health agencies, hospitals and elder care organizations with comprehensive services, including telehealth equipment rental, wireless connectivity and monitoring.
• DayaMed is developing the MedPod telehealth hub, a customized medication dispenser and platform that provides patients with precise medication doses and instructions. In addition, HIPAA-compliant alerts can be sent to any authorized member of the patient’s medical ecosystem. DayaMed is working with Sprint to develop embedded wireless connectivity for the MedPod. DayaMed provides patient centered medical consumer devices and services that are designed to elevate patient adherence to prescribed therapeutic regimes, raising patient health endpoints while lowering patient and overall healthcare costs.
• This morning, Sprint announced that it is working with HealthSpot to develop embedded wireless connectivity for the HealthSpot Care4 Station, a virtual doctor’s office.

“More Americans are suffering from chronic conditions such as obesity and diabetes than ever before,” said Wayne Ward, vice president-Emerging Solutions Group, Sprint. “Wireless Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication presents an opportunity to streamline healthcare and provide greater access to critical patient information at significantly less cost and effort. The potential to improve patient wellness and physician efficiency in an on-demand setting is just one example of how connected devices are changing the way we work and live.”

A strategic approach

Sprint’s advanced wireless management strategy helps hospitals and providers make sense of, manage and contain costs for wireless networks, devices and services. Many hospital networks are currently operating at or near capacity while overburdened IT staffs struggle to keep systems running. Sprint provides the wireless infrastructure so that healthcare providers can focus on service delivery.

“For 2012, it’s about engaging providers and consumers with enabling technologies to empower the transformation to a more consumer-driven system,” said Julee Thompson, chief healthcare executive, Sprint. “We are focusing on providing core infrastructure integration and key technology process improvements to assure mission-critical elements are in place.” Examples of wireless infrastructure include next-generation messaging supported by a unified communications platform, clinical DAS, mobile integration, M2M technology as well as business-continuity and emergency response solutions. “We want practitioners to have the ability to access secure electronic medical records (EMR) from virtually anywhere,” Thompson added. “Sprint is focused on helping healthcare providers get the right information, to the right person, using the right form factor, at the right time, with the right infrastructure and technical expertise.”

A commitment to healthcare

Sprint has sales, engineering, product development and marketing resources in place with a deep history and extensive experience within the healthcare industry. The team understands the industry, standards of practice and care delivery. Thompson has over 25 years of senior-level healthcare expertise, including patient care and operations. Sprint is a diamond corporate sponsor of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Sprint is actively involved in local HIMSS chapters. Debbie Vogel, account manager, Sprint, was recently elected to the board of the Arizona HIMSS chapter.

As a demonstration of its commitment to the development of telemedicine as a healthcare delivery channel, Sprint is a Sustaining President’s Circle member of the American Telemedicine Association. Sprint works closely with customers to develop solutions to meet their unique needs. Through the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Sprint executives meet with healthcare CIOs twice a year to discuss ideas about leveraging communications technology. Sprint is also a CHIME Foundation Firm and an associate member of the National Association for Home Care (NAHC). For more information, visit www.sprint.com/healthcare.

A network vision

To ensure that future demand for wireless connectivity will be met, Sprint embarked on a multiyear initiative to provide an enhanced network experience expected to provide faster data speeds and improved voice quality, while creating network flexibility, reducing operating costs and improving environmental sustainability. The program, called Network Vision, involves the deployment of multimode base stations across many of Sprint’s cell sites throughout the country. As base stations are deployed, customers are expected to notice immediate improvements both outside and inside buildings, plus 4G LTE capability will become available. Sprint expects to complete Network Vision by the end of 2013.

HIMSS12

The HIMSS annual conference and expo (HIMSS12) will take place Feb. 20 – 24 at the Venetian Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. Sprint will have telehealth experts on hand in booth #3055 to talk about mobility management, M2M, clinical-grade infrastructure and business continuity.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

We’ve all been around long enough to know that no silver bullet will cure what ails healthcare, but there is one thing on which most everyone agrees. Collaboration is essential in healthcare and healthcare doesn’t do it well. This failure ranges from simple misdiagnosis to many “adverse events”, which according to the most recent HHS report accounts for 180,000 deaths per year! I don’t want to tell you what you already know but merely draw your attention to collaboration and a solution our company, Astound Technologies, has developed called the Virtual Specialist. It’s basically takes over where Unified Communications and Telemedicine fall short and is, by all accounts, a real game changer.

Patients, Caregivers and Doctors Connect 24/7 

Walnut Creek, CA and Dallas, TX, February 8, 2012— Astound Technologies, LLC and Metro Doctors E-Access Clinics, LLC (MDEAC) today announced they have entered into an agreement to provide telemedicine services to hospitals, physician offices, skilled nursing centers, elder care facilities, and other health care facilities using Astound Technologies’ Virtual Specialist Network (VSN). Under the terms of the agreement, Astound Technologies will provide the applications to conduct live video consultations and MDEAC will provide physician services.

The Virtual Specialist’s unique ability is to quickly connect “care points”—where the patients are—and today’s highly mobile specialists for streamlined video collaboration using PCs, Microsoft’s Lync and the Internet. With a touch or a click, a physician can digitally appear in underserved areas or wherever there is internet service, saving time, eliminating travel, lowering costs and improving care.

“We’ve applied the principles of processing telephone calls to processing video collaboration calls with a focus on healthcare,” states Jack Gaither, Astound Technologies Founder and CEO. “We are very excited about partnering with MDEAC to offer the Virtual Specialist as a managed service to complement our enterprise version.”

“Managing more than one video call at a time between several patients and our physicians while maintaining appropriate security for each call presented a real challenge before we discovered the Virtual Specialist,” said Steve McReynolds, MDEAC chief executive officer. “Physicians wanted a system that mimicked a real, in-person doctor’s office visit.” The Virtual Specialist, with its answer—route and queue capability—solves the problem by allowing MDEAC staff to distribute telemedicine calls to a specific doctor’s queue based on the time of the patient’s arrival or the urgency of the complaint. “The ‘Virtual Specialist’ is the only thing I’ve seen that can do that.”

MDEAC physicians will be able to engage in a live video chat with any remote patient and the attending health care professional. In addition, they will have instant access to electronic health records, images and recordings from electronic medical instruments at the care point such as stethoscopes, otoscopes, and auxiliary cameras.

About Metro Doctors E-Access Clinics LLC

Metro Doctors E-Access Clinics LLC (MDEAC), based in Dallas, TX, provides patients and health care providers convenient, timely, affordable, and live visual access to board-certified physicians from a PC using the Virtual Specialist software and an internet connection. Patient care sites, staffed with a licensed healthcare professional who attends the patients and assists MDEAC physicians, include a minor urgent care clinic, a family practice clinic, and a disease management program. MDEAC physicians, over a live video chat, are able to establish a physician-patient relationship and, thus, provide the patient with an examination, a diagnosis, a plan of treatment, and a prescription order in Texas or wherever state medical licensing boards allow these same elements to be practiced during a telemedicine encounter.

For more information visit www.eaccessclinics.com.

About Astound Technologies, LLC

Astound Technologies is a Microsoft Certified Partner based in Walnut Creek, CA, specializing in virtual collaboration management software and a repeat winner of the Malcolm Baldrige Award. Its flagship eHealth solution, The Virtual Specialist, incorporates an automatic video call distributor (AVCD) software switch that routes video collaboration calls between any PC device operating Windows 7 enabling caregivers and physicians to appear where they’re needed― virtually and on demand. Astound is committed to improving care and slashing costs by making visual collaboration and telemedicine commonplace from daycare to eldercare and everywhere in between. For more information visit www.thevirtualspecialist.com 

Today Verizon announced a strategic partnership with Health Evolution Partners to encourage innovation and adoption of connected health information technologies that help drive patient care improvements and better manage costs.  Under a new multiyear agreement, Verizon and Health Evolution Partners will collaborate to identify and work with companies to spur the development and adoption of advanced IT solutions and applications in areas such as mobile health, telemedicine and health data management to help transform health care delivery in the U.S.

NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO –Health Evolution Partners and Verizon Enterprise Solutions have established a strategic relationship to encourage innovation and adoption of connected health information technologies that help drive patient care improvements and better manage costs.

Under a new multiyear agreement announced today (Feb. 6), Health Evolution Partners (HEP), a health care buyout firm, and Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions, the company’s health IT practice group, will collaborate to identify and work with companies to spur the development and adoption of advanced IT solutions and applications in areas such as mobile health, telemedicine and health data management to help transform health care delivery in the U.S.

Demand for connected health technologies is expected to grow rapidly as the industry seeks to better manage costs and improve patient care by facilitating real-time care coordination, increasing patient engagement and enabling information portability. The firms will leverage HEP’s unique health care insight and Verizon’s platform-based health IT portfolio of mobility, cloud and IT offerings to accelerate transformative change by providing innovators with the ability to develop and scale connected health IT solutions and applications.

“The next generation of health IT will not be anchored to a desk,” said Dr. David J. Brailer, chairman of Health Evolution Partners.  “Clinicians and patients will expect technologies that support mobility and virtual care.  Advanced broadband, video-based technologies and wireless devices that incorporate geo-location capabilities and sensors will change the landscape of health care from development to delivery. Our relationship with Verizon demonstrates the importance of bringing these innovations to market.”

Dr. Peter Tippett, vice president and chief medical officer, Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions, said: “Strong collaboration across the health care ecosystem is essential to enabling health IT transformation. Verizon is committed to building strategic relationships to help spur the adoption of connected health technologies. Health Evolution Partners stands out because of the firm’s deep understanding of the health care industry and its proven ability to invest in innovative companies that are poised to play important roles in the future of health care.”

Executives from HEP and Verizon Enterprise Solutions will discuss market opportunities in connected health during a session on mobility at this year’s HEP Leadership Summit, an annual gathering of 350 world-class health care CEOs, innovators, investors, policy makers and thought leaders, to be held April 25-27 at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Calif.

About Health Evolution Partners

Health Evolution Partners buys and operates rapidly growing companies that are commercial leaders in the health care industry.  We invest around the globe and across the health economy, including services, information technology and life sciences.  We form close working partnerships with outstanding management teams and connect our companies to our network of CEOs, policy makers and thought leaders. For more information on Health Evolution Partners, visit www.healthevolutionpartners.com.

About Verizon

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with nearly 109 million total connections nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500.  A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 194,000.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

Consult A Doctor, an innovator of telemedicine services and technology solutions, today announced the launch of FLUHOTLINE24/7, a resource that will connect people in all 50 states with board certified physicians that can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications, if appropriate, for the highly contagious flu virus via phone.

Here are some of the main highlights:
Industry Statistics
- According to a recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) announcement, more than 160 million cases of the flu are expected for the 2011-2012 flu season.
- In an average year, flu-related complications lead to over 200,000 hospitalizations, many of which are non-emergent and contribute to an overcrowded, wasteful healthcare system.

Consult A Doctor’s FLUHOTLINE24/7
- Consult A Doctor’s network of physicians use the most current clinical information and treatment guidelines from the CDC to answer any flu related questions and provide educational medical instruction and advice.
- A typical consultation with a Consult A Doctor physician via FLUHOTLINE24/7, either via a call to 1-855-DOC-4FLU or logging on to www.FLUHOTLINE247.com, takes just minutes and costs under $40, regardless of insurance status.
- Consult A Doctor also provides a web portal that grants patients and physicians access to a robust health library and other wellness tools.

Consult A Doctor Gives Patients Seeking Diagnosis and Treatment for Flu Symptoms Immediate Access to Physicians via Phone at Low Cost

Miami, FL., January 18, 2012 — The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently announced that it is expecting more than 160 million cases of the flu over the 2011-2012 flu season. In an average year, complications related to the flu lead to over 200,000 hospitalizations, many of which are non-emergent and contribute to an overcrowded, wasteful healthcare system. To help solve the problem of physician access, Consult A Doctor, an innovator of telemedicine services and technology solutions, today announced the launch of FLUHOTLINE24/7, a resource that will connect people in all 50 states with board certified physicians that can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications, if appropriate, for the highly contagious flu virus via phone.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms may call 1-855-DOC-4FLU or log on to www.FLUHOTLINE247.com and be connected with a certified physician in real-time, from anywhere, 24/7/365. A Consult A Doctor physician will conduct a brief consultation via phone. For patients that may need medication, a thorough medical intake will be performed and, if warranted, the doctor can provide a prescription for anti-viral or other indicated medications.

Consult A Doctor’s network of physicians use the most current clinical information and treatment guidelines from the CDC to answer any flu related questions and provide educational medical instruction and advice. A typical consultation with a Consult A Doctor physician via FLUHOTLINE24/7 takes just minutes and costs under $40, regardless of insurance status.

“Until now, concierge medicine has been something few people could obtain. When we are sick, we typically have to get in our cars and drive ourselves to our primary physician’s office – if we have one. If not, our options are quite limited and usually entail spending most of a day at the local ER, wasting time and spending hundreds of dollars,” said Wolf Shlagman, Founder and CEO of Consult A Doctor. “With telemedicine services, this entire process changes. Patients can obtain affordable, quality medical care without ever leaving their home. This is especially important when dealing with a pandemic like the flu as it insulates physicians, patients and the general public from exposure to germs.”

In addition to the FLUHOTLINE24/7 resource, Consult A Doctor also provides a web portal that grants patients and physicians access to a robust health library and other wellness tools. Using this web portal, visitors may schedule appointments, store and share Personal Health Records (PHRs) and consult with physicians regarding any non-emergency illness via secure email consultations.

“As a practicing physician, I have seen influenza season put a strain on time, energy and resources – not only in my own practice but also in urgent care clinics, ER departments and hospitals. Many times health problems are exacerbated by patients not seeking care in a timely manner, resulting in worsening illness and serious complications, including bronchitis, pneumonia, respiratory failure and even death,” said Dr. Doug Smith, CMO of Consult A Doctor and Co-founder of MinuteClinic. “The ability to utilize telemedicine to provide earlier, more timely and more appropriate treatment allows clinicians and patients to reduce the duration and progression of the flu. Telemedicine also helps to identify those patients who are severely ill and direct them to other care settings, if needed, in an efficient and prompt manner.”

About Consult A Doctor

Consult A Doctor is the leading innovator of cloud-based telemedicine services and technology platform solutions empowering organizations to lower healthcare costs, provide revolutionary access and improve outcomes. With years of experience delivering direct-to-employer and consumer telemedicine services that offer convenient 24/7 access to doctor consultations by phone, email and video, Consult a Doctor has saved employers millions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare costs.  Its telemedicine network of U.S. board certified physicians in all 50 states has made it possible to give on-demand care, anytime, anywhere with access to medically-equivalent care in the lowest cost setting. Consult A Doctor is further transforming the economic equation of care by partnering with payers, providers and other organizations to deploy its telemedicine platform solution that grants its members and patients unmatched access to quality care, offers a new revenue source for providers, and lowers costs for health plans, employers and groups. For more information about Consult A Doctor, please visit www.consultadoctor.com, email telecare@consultadr.com or call 888-688-DOCTOR (3624).