Video collaboration apps paying off for California hospital

As Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives attempt to figure out how to merge five healthcare bills into something the president can quickly sign off on, healthcare organizations like El Camino Hospital are implementing telehealth solutions in an effort to increase organizational efficiencies and to slash costs. El Camino has been using three video collaboration applications from Hillside, N.J.-based Glowpoint, Inc. to better serve patients at both its Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif., campuses.

As a recent case study points out: In one of the applications, El Camino Hospital utilizes Glowpoint’s Telepresence interExchange Network (TEN) service for secure, high-quality network connectivity to provide patients with remote access to as many as 14 expert opinions. In addition to enabling more diagnosis options, the service cuts travel costs for doctors and patients while increasing the overall quality of care.

Shyamali Singhal, M.D., PhD., a surgical oncologist who serves as medical director of the Cancer Center at El Camino Hospital, says that since establishing the Glowpoint video-conferencing connection with City of Hope, a cancer institute in Duarte, California, they have held monthly joint tumor boards, which benefit patients in both locations.

"Each team presents challenging patient cases, including sharing high-definition images of key diagnostics, such as CT scans, digital X-rays, and pathology slides," Singhal said in a statement. "We seek input from participating oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, internists, pharmacists, and a wide range of other clinical team members."

It's this kind of communication that allows the team to consider a wide range of medical and surgical perspectives, and to capture the latest clinical thinking regarding a patient’s unique situation and best treatment options. Singhal is among those physicians at El Camino looking forward to expanding the hospital's use of the technology in other clinical areas, as well as to other locations and care teams.

Right now, Glowpoint estimates that roughly five percent of its business is attributable to the healthcare industry. But company officials expect that percentage to grow as a result of health reform efforts, and as coordination improves among public health organizations and governments around the world. For example, Glowpoint’s TEN could be instrumental in linking ministries of health in developing nations with the best healthcare providers in developed countries to address some of the most pressing health issues among children and other at-risk populations.

Closer to home, video collaboration apps should go a long way towards helping us make the best of a dwindling physician population, too. You can check out the El Camino case study here.