Cisco TelePresence enables medical consultations in Swiss pharmacies

By eGov Innovation Editors | Jan 28, 2012

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Cisco and Swisscom are equipping 200 pharmacies in Switzerland with Cisco TelePresence video communication systems.

The project, initiated by pharmaSuisse, Switzerland's association of pharmacists, in association with MEDGATE and the medical and accident insurer Helsana, is expected to improve the provision of advanced telemedicine services as virtual consultations become almost real-life in quality.

Cisco said at the patients can receive a formal and documented initial consultation (triage) with a physician over a video link at a pharmacy.

"At each end of the link there is an EX90 system equipped with a microphone, a camera and a 24-inch full-HD display. The physician and patient can see and hear each other as if they were sitting in the same room. For the patient, the experience is like visiting the physician in-persons; for the physician, it is easy to make a visual assessment of the patient's problems," it said.

The TelePresence system can add other components if necessary such as diagnostic devices and an additional monitor can be connected to measure a patient's heart rate, blood pressure and temperature.
 
"Cisco TelePresence offers optimized secure data transmission that fully protects users' confidentiality," explained Christian Martin, adding that edical examinations take place in a separate consultation room, and physicians and pharmacists are bound by an obligation of confidentiality.