UnitedHealth Group, Cisco to build first countrywide telehealth network in the US

Imagine stepping into a room at your workplace or even a local retail outlet for a high-definition video conference with your doctor that feels like the two of you are in the same room.

Or imagine a mobile telehealth clinic traveling to patients and connecting them with doctors hundreds of miles away.

Diversified healthcare group UnitedHealth Group is working with Cisco and other providers of collaborative technologies to build the next generation of health care delivery to launch Connected Care, the first national telehealth network in the US to expand health care access.
 
The initiative will  integrate leading health care and remote video technology systems to expand physicians' reach into areas with inadequate medical facilities.

UnitedHealth Group and Cisco are working to give patients access to physicians and specialists when in-person visits are not possible. The new ''Connected Care'' programme combines audio and video technology and health resources to greatly expand physicians' reach into rural, urban and other areas, tro which UnitedHealth Group has committed substantial funding.

UnitedHealth Group's national care provider network, including 590,000 physicians and care professionals and over 4,900 hospitals, combined with Cisco's industry-leading video conferencing and other collaborative network technologies, will help connect patients more easily with primary care physicians, specialists and hospitals.

Connected Care will make clinics available in the workplace, as well as in rural and retail locations. In-home visits using similar technology will also be introduced to bring care to the patient.