Stock watcher publication TheStreet is reporting this week that, while 99% of health care software developers will focus on electronic health records this year, Cisco CEO John Chambers has declared that America’s healthcare reform movement will involve much more. He predicts that video will revolutionize the way Americans access medical care and play a major role in the health care business sector for years to come.
Chambers will leave the EHR battle, with its $19.5 billion prize from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to the crowded field dominated by the likes of IBM, Intel, GE, Allscripts, Cerner, McKesson and many others and turn Cisco’s attention to video-based communication systems.
“Imagine if you could access the best doctors in the world from your home or [could have] the ability to interface with your [aging] parents and see how they are doing,” he told TheStreet at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “What the administration is trying to do with its spending is to kick start things – the real growth will come through both the private and the public sector over the next five years.”
As we have reported after the last two HIMSS annual gatherings, Cisco moved into the healthcare segment not only with its array of network routers and other technologies but also with “Connected Health,” a video system for sharing information. The concept is that “telepresence,” a form of high-end video conferencing, is more effective than merely sending X-ray and C.T. scan files across network connections.
Cisco invested a small fortune, not only into television advertising but also by getting its telepresence product prominently placed on Fox’s 24 in the last few seasons. We are not sure if President Obama uses it in Washington DC but “President Taylor” certainly does at Fox Studios in Burbank.
During Chambers’ keynote address at the CES show, Cisco marketing vice president Ken Wirt demonstrated the technology by discussing his diabetes with his doctor, revealing Cisco’s long-range plan to extend the technology to the consumer market. The company discussed plans to eventually offer a home-based telepresence system, which customers will access via their existing HDTV and broadband system, not by purchasing a hospital-grade video system.
Working with Verizon, Cisco will run its first home telepresence trials in the U.S. this spring, TheStreet reports. Other signs that Cisco is betting on the future of video were its 2009 $590 million acquisition of Flip camera maker Pure Digital and $3.4 billion acquisition of Norwegian video conferencing specialist Tandberg.
Chambers predicts that the health IT revolution will improve the quality of care and save money by boosting efficiency. “My view is that you could probably cut the cost of the healthcare system by 25% to 30% and dramatically improve the quality of healthcare by using this technology,” he told TheStreet. “Stay tuned — you are going to see a number of announcements from Cisco this year in the healthcare area.”
If Chambers’ efforts cause an explosion in video traffic, TheStreet noted, it will certainly not harm the demand for Cisco’s switches and routers either.
