Salon Series #2: Advanced Technologies, Healthcare Systems, & Health Research

Angelos Pangratis, Acting Head of Delegation, European Union to the U.S., set the stage for a four-hour intensive salon series of lectures and discussions on recent outcomes and needs in applying ICT technologies to enhance healthcare delivery: 'The European Union needs to improve growth and competitiveness through accelerated innovation, improved efficiencies, and reducing costs in this time of economic crisis. Healthcare costs are estimated to consume 16% of EU GDP by 2020, ... reducing health disparities is essential as are the technology applications that facilitate reducing costs and improving services.' Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, MD, PhD,  spoke on the European Priorities for Global Health Research, emphasizing the issue of translating research to optimize delivery of healthcare. She noted the upcoming Brussels-based conference for small and medium enterprises on innovation in health care and policy development. Charles Mgone, MD, PhD, Executive Director, European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCCTP) followed on Success Stories and Lessons Learned. He highlighted the challenges presented by the lack of capacity and a regulatory culture for building effective healthcare systems. Key to shaping needed change and systems growth, Mgone stressed, is tapping the talent in the south, developing south-to-south partnerships, and the creation of networks in central regions for accomplishing clinical trials. Rifat Latifi, MD, FACS, Founder and Chief Executive Director, International Virtual e-Hospital Foundation, spoke on Telemedicine and e-Health in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Balkans. Funded by the EU and agency for reconstruction, Latifi has established the Telemedicine Center of Kosovo, as well as Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania facilities. 'The future of medical education is bits and bytes (Gorman et al, 2000)....While not the sole answer, technology is an enabler of change', offered Latifi citing an article from a decade ago. Today , his agency is building 14 centers in Albania funded by USAID and the European Command. He is also working of telemedicine facilities for Peru and Yemen.

Discussants--Pramod Gaur, Vice President, Telehealth, UnitedHealth Group, Jay Sanders, President and CEO of the Global Telemedicine Group, and Professor Johns Hopkins U School of Medicine, and Antonio Hernandez, Senior Advisor, Health Services Physical Infrastructure & Technology, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)--stressed that telehealth is not a new strategy, but one that started some years back via landline telephones and simpler technologies, but now has expanded potential through mobile and other advances. Broadband access is still a barrier for rural and remote areas where 6 million are located in the caribbean and Latin America. Technology can offer assistance in primary and secondary prevention,  training of primary healthcare providers, and access to specialized services. In response to a query as to how to move technology solutions into the mainstream, panelists encouraged the formation of public-private alliances needed to repair the fragmented state of health care systems in low- and middle-resourced countries. Gaur stressed the challenge for creation of micro-economic business models to facilitate wider use of technology solutions.