Telemedicine industry executives discussing "Innovations in Technology" at #ATA2012

Here at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2012 annual conference, we are seeing a tremendous amount of technology innovation. Today, I attended the Industry Executive Panel 6: Innovation in Technology. What’s on the horizon? Where are advancements most needed? Participants included: GlobalMed, InTouch Health, Bayer Healthcare, and Medweb.

Here, they discussed the transitions occurring in the telemedicine marketplace. We are seeing more segmentation. Companies are focusing on their core strengths. We are also seeing strategic partnerships and collaborations. Telemedicine is being incorporated into the standard clinical workflow and regulatory issues are becoming more important as telemedicine systems share health information with electronic health record systems. Hence, interoperability becomes one of the next major hurdles. Let's hope to see an interoperability showcase next year at the ATA conference.

As telemedicine grows and evolves, we will also see more regulations by groups like the FDA around the acute care setting. Plus, international regulations are challenging obstacles that every telemedicine organization must face when they enter the global market. In the developing world, we are still faced with the lack of power and clean water to effectively deliver health care.

Mobile technology is creating ubiquitous access and that's a big area where we are seeing innovation in telemedicine. There are also growing opportunities in the way telemedicine enters the market and the business models surrounding telemedicine. Telemedicine can empower the clinician with artificial intelligence to assist with differential diagnosis and treatment plans. As telemedicine evolves, this is an exciting time to be working in this industry and I'm sure we'll see many more discussions around this topic in the near future.

ATA 2012
Industry Executive Panel 6: Innovation in Technology
5/1/12 at 11 am

Moderator

GlobalMedJoel Barthelemy
Managing Director

Panelists

InTouch HealthTimothy C. Wright, MBA
VP Corporate and Market Strategy 

Bayer HealthcareRick Kates
Global Head Viterion TeleHealthcare 

MedwebPete Killcommons, MD
CEO

ATA12 coverage is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care.