The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) promotes and assists international outreach initiatives by medical institutions that provide health and medical services, information and medical education to populations in underdeveloped nations using telemedicine. These cross-border initiatives provide additional health and medical services to developing nations, better development coordination and implementation of these projects and improved diplomatic relations between the host and supported countries, via “healthcare diplomacy."
 

Projects and Initiatives

• Telemedicine for Pakistan Flood Relief - The 2010 Pakistan floods began in July 2010 after heavy monsoon rains affected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, lower Punjab as well as parts of Balochistan. It is estimated that two thousand people along with close to a million homes have perished so far. The United Nations estimates over 20 million people are suffering and homeless with over 160,000 square kilometers affected as a result of the flooding.Once again, telemedicine can provide a valuable tool to connect trained healthcare professionals to a population in dire need of medical services.
• Telemedicine for Haiti Earthquake Relief - On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a devastating, magnitude 7.0 earthquake. The epicenter of the quake was just off the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. Much of the Haitian health infrastructure was destroyed by the earthquake.  The health fallout from the earthquake is sure to be felt for many years. The next phase will be to coordinate volunteer efforts for ongoing health services in Haiti, once the initial shock has subsided. Many ATA members have volunteered services, hardware, software and networks for ongoing health issues.
• Video Interviews with International Telehealth Leaders (16-18 May 2010) - Courtesy of Carosh Media and Marketing - At the Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, ATA recorded a series of video interviews with leaders from the telemedicine industry and international telemedicine organizations.  A selection of internationally-focussed interviews is included below.  Click here to view the full catalog of video recordings.   
  
      » Ward Casscells, MD and Hiliary Critchley discuss their ongoing efforts using mHealth in Haiti
  
      » Dale Alverson, MD interviews the Dr. Roberto Esteves, MD, MPH, Technical Consultant for the Ministry of Health of Brazil
  
      » Pramod Gaur, MD discusses the state of healthcare and telemedicine in India with Baljit Bedi, MTech, Vice President of the Telemedicine Society of India
  
      » Tim Rowan talks with Armenian Association of TeleMedicine President Georgi Chatikyan about the impact of technology on health outcomes 
   
• Cross-Border Telemedicine Initiatives Survey - Preliminary Results (1 September 2009) 
• International Summit on the Global Use of Telemedicine (26 April 2009) - As a part of ATA 2009 in Las Vegas, the American Telemedicine Association coordinated an international summit on the use of telemedicine.This meeting focused on telemedicine activities in other regions of the world with an emphasis on telemedicine in developing nations and cross border programs and issues. PowerPoint slides from all summit presentations are included below. A report of the meeting is in production and will be available shortly.
• Cross-Border Telemedicine Initiatives Catalogued (February 2008) - ATA is conducting an examination of telemedical services that are provided across international borders - where the provider is located in one country and the patient receiving health services is located in another. These type of services are on the rise across the globe. In some cases they are commercial in nature, where the institution and/or health professional is paid for their services either directly by the patient or by a third party payer. In other cases, such services are delivered as a form of outreach to developing nations.   A survey form for this has been established here.  The survey is only 7 questions and only takes a few of minutes to complete. 

International Telemedicine News

Coming soon...
 

Links

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• ATA International Special Interest Group - The mission of the International SIG is to serve as a central focal point and forum for sharing knowledge in International Telemedicine, provide advocacy for International activities, projects and programs, provide guidance to countries establishing their own associations, and provide a platform for discussion on International standards.
• ATA Latin American and Caribbean Chapter - The American Telemedicine Association Latin-American & Caribbean Chapter (ATALACC) is comprised of professionals from Latin-American and Caribbean countries that are committed to the development and application of telemedicine and medical informatics. ATALACC also seeks to provide a forum for the sharing of information and resources in order to educate and promote telemedicine initiatives in this region.
• ATA Pacific Islands Chapter - The ATA Pacific Islands Chapter (PICATA) is an alliance of professionals with an interest in increasing the effectiveness of telemedicine in the Pacific Basin. The ATA Pacific Islands Chapter allows members to collaborate with each other, share ideas and experiences, and interface with one another utilizing the existing networks to enhance healthcare. The Chapter is a point of contact, resource, and advocate for the State of Hawaii in telemedicine and telehealth issues.
• mHealth Alliance - the GSM Mobile World Congress in February 2009, the Rockefeller Foundation, United Nations Foundation, and Vodafone Foundation announced an agreement to form the mHealth Alliance to facilitate global innovation and ensure maximum impact in the field of mobile health (mHealth).
• Telehealth Video Resources Center - The Telehealth Video Resource Center (TVRC), a not-for-profit center, serves as an international resource center and video hub of telehealth activities for statewide, national and international activities. The TVRC will encourage, promote and support the use of high quality video for health education and training, research, and associated clinical activities by providing a focal point for individuals and organizations that have a need to use video resources in support of telehealth activities.
• International Virtual e-Hospital - The International Virtual e-Hospital Foundation IVeH (former Kosova Foundation for Medical Development) is a non-profit organization (501©3), with the home office in Anchorage, Alaska. IVeH was created to help rebuild the medical system in Kosova and other developing countries by introducing and implementing telemedicine, telehealth and virtual educational programs through the concept of the International Virtual e-Hospital (IVeH) Network.
• iCons in Medicine - Through the Internet, iCons in Medicine connects health care providers in medically underserved areas with a world-wide network of commited specialty physicians who provide expertise, encouragement and advise on difficult cases.
• Swinfen Charitable Trust - The Swinfen Charitable Trust was set up by Lord and Lady Swinfen in 1998, with the aim of assisting poor, sick and disabled people in the developing world. The Trust's policy is to do this by establishing telemedicine links between hospital-based practitioners in the developing world and expert medical and surgical specialists who generously give free advice via the Internet.
• HELP Disaster Logistics - HELP is an Arizona USA-based non profit humanitarian relief organization devoted to meeting the needs of the many victims of natural and man-made disasters on a global basis. HELP is an acronym for our official name, Humanitarian Emergency Logistics & Preparedness Inc.  HELP also has a Ning Social Networking page.
• University of New Mexico Center for Telehealth and Cybermedicine Research - The Center for Telehealth will continue to develop visible and sustainable Telehealth networks delivering demonsratable health care services and benefits to the underserved in New Mexico, nationally, and internationally.