Inhabitants of a remote island can now access advanced telemedical care, due to pro-bono services and support from a technology team led by Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM, Boston-based Beacon Equity Partners, San Francisco-based Medweb and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC.)
Tristan da Cunha is located more than 1,665 miles west of Cape Town, South Africa, and is accessible only by a week-long boat trip. It is inhabited by 270 British citizens.
This remote medical solution combines medical equipment, satellite communications and remotely supported EHR technology, allowing medical experts from anywhere in the world to assist island clinicians in their daily practices with medical diagnoses and emergency support.
IBM was responsible for the co-development, integration and project management for the telemedicine system, Beacon Equity Partners provided co-development of the concept and funding, Medweb provided servers, software and additional medical input devices, and UPMC helped plan and implement the project. Additionally, UPMC offered clinical professional service to the island.
