Howard Medical is a company on the front lines of this emerging field, and their telehealth products are rapidly transforming the healthcare delivery system. Howard’s telehealth equipment provides all-in-one solutions, linking physicians to their patients seamlessly. These products range from telehealth carts, software, and kits to cabinets and kiosks. The Hi-Care telemedicine cart is an innovative solution. This mobile system has a flexible design and provides users the ability to communicate in a customized way, meeting the needs of the healthcare facility. The Hi-Care also includes remote monitoring and remote management software.

Additional HiCare features include:

• A task Light;
• One-touch height adjustment for both the monitor and the work surface;
• Anti-microbial touch surfaces;
• A centralized control panel
• Adjustable steering handles
• A 270-degree wrap-around cart handle
• A negative tilt keyboard tray with wrist rest and a keyboard light
• Rubberized footrests
• On-demand steer assist technology
• Storage options; and 
• A PTZOptics camera, which allows a physician to remotely zoom into specific areas of interest in high definition. 

This telemedicine is ideal for delivering healthcare services from remote specialists into almost any hospital setting. From the anti-microbial touch surfaces to the 270-degree wrap-around cart handle, this telemedicine delivery system is much more than a mobile cart. 

The system allows for the integration of a remotely controlled PTZOptics video conferencing camera that doctors can operate from almost anywhere in the world. The second-generation PTZOptics camera featured here uses a USB 3.0 connection to the computer which creates a plug and play high definition video connection. The integrated 12X lens and robotic motors provide doctors with an ideal combination of a wide field of view and powerful optical zoom used for capturing areas of interest in great detail. 

This camera includes a feature called UVC 1.5, which provides advanced robotic camera control functionality over a single USB connection. This feature allows doctors to control the camera directly through their favorite video communications software. This PTZOptics camera features a crisp and responsive auto-focus that can adjust quickly as doctors zoom in and out during use. The second-generation 12X and 20X cameras models from PTZOptics have become a favorite solution in telemedicine delivery for this reason.

To match the health care aesthetic, this camera has been selected in white. The complete part number is 12X-USB-WH-G2. As you can see, the camera is firmly affixed to the top of this telemedicine cart using the quarter-twenty screw connection on the camera mount. This telemedicine cart can easily fit through any standard doorway. Moving the cart around is safe and easy with rubberized brakes and multiple options for handle grips. The on-demand steer assist options make smoothly navigating busy hospital hallways breeze.

Multiple task light options are available for the storage areas, the work surface area, and the keyboard tray making work during night shifts less intrusive inpatient rooms. The centralized control panel features intuitive operations that control the cart’s adjustable height options. As you can see a simple button press can turn on each task light. Another button adjusts the height of the cart, and a simple battery light indicates how much charge is left with the onboard UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) system.

On the side of the unit, you will notice a panel for connectivity to USB 3.0 devices. USB medical devices such as an Otoscope, Pulse Oximeter, and others can easily be connected with this panel. The panel also supports hardwired ethernet connectivity and HDMI for adding additional monitors. 

You can learn more about this medical cart at the links below. Also, consider learning about more Healthcare case studies at PTZOptics.com by visiting the healthcare case studies page. 

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Two terms that are often used to refer to this type of technology-based remote healthcare are telehealth and telemedicine. These two terms are commonly used interchangeably. However, there is an essential distinction between the two. Understanding the difference can help us have clearer conversations about the role of technology in healthcare and how we can continue to provide ways to positively impact health and healthcare outcomes among the underserved.

Telehealth

Telehealth is a blanket term that refers broadly to the use of technology and telecommunications equipment to provide healthcare and health services to remote locations. Because of the nature of the technology in play, these services can be delivered across town or across oceans and continents as long as there is sufficient internet bandwidth to support the exchange of information.

Telehealth can include health education services, the monitoring of patients, and remote doctor-patient consultations and diagnoses. This can be done via live videoconferencing, which provides an audiovisual link between patients and healthcare providers, along with store-and-forward video conferencing, which allows for the transmission of recorded information, usually to a specialist. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is another aspect of telehealth that uses specialized connected electronic monitoring tools to transmit health data to a provider in another location, either in real-time or via recording. Telehealth also includes mobile health (mHealth) services, which include the distribution of healthcare information via mobile devices. This may include general health information and even notifications about outbreaks or other health emergencies.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine is a sub-category of telehealth and deals more specifically with remote clinical services. Through the use of broadband internet, PTZ cameras, and remote monitoring equipment, medical professionals can conduct one-on-one consultations and evaluations, transmit and receive medical imaging, and diagnose patients. Patients without direct access to a physician, physician’s assistant, nurse, or nurse-practitioner can receive many of the benefits of an in-person visit via the use of this technology.

To learn more about the advances in technology that make both telehealth and telemedicine possible, including the powerful PTZ cameras that allow doctors to easily control their views using the cameras built-in pan, title, and zoom features, visit the PTZOptics healthcare page.

Telemedicine Carts

When delivering Telemedicine services to patients remotely, many doctors will use a professional telemedicine cart. PTZOptics has partnered with Howard Medical to create a Telemedicine cart many Healthcare professionals use for telemedicine. You can learn more about this cart here and watch the video below.

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