FALLS CHURCH, VA – CSC  announced the launch of its Global Institute for Emerging Healthcare Practices Monday with the mission of monitoring worldwide trends, conducting regional and multi-country studies, and evaluating emerging operational practices and technologies such as telemedicine that have the potential to improve performance of healthcare industries around the world.

By merging trends and experience across geographies, and tapping its expertise in the United States, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), CSC’s new endeavor will offer healthcare providers the tools to learn about, and capitalize on, best practices no matter where they are developed.

“While many aspects of healthcare payment differ among countries, the goals of safe, efficient and high quality care are universal – and technology is a critical component of delivering on these imperatives,” said Mark Roman, president of CSC’s Global Healthcare Group. “CSC’s expertise in technology, and our position as a global leader in the healthcare market, enables us to deliver key insights and uncover tools and services for use by our clients around the world. We are pleased to create a formal home for our thought leadership activities which will allow us to share what we learn with the industry.”

In tandem with the launch, CSC released a new global report, “Telemedicine – An Essential Technology for Reformed Healthcare,” that describes how telemedicine addresses the healthcare challenges of access to care, resource shortages and escalating costs that impact healthcare throughout the world. The report also identifies telemedicine solutions available and already in use around the world. For instance, specialists in Queensland, Australia, provide rural care through a mobile screening program that operates as a mobile clinic from a van in remote areas.

The immediate question for health systems and government/payers is where to start and how to make longer-range plans for integrating telemedicine into routine health care. Within the report, CSC makes the following recommendations to organizations considering a telemedicine solution:

•     Start by picking one healthcare issue that can be addressed by telemedicine, using existing solutions that address access, resource and care delivery problems, from the ICU to home care.
•     Focus on immediate needs and opportunities, but do not overlook selecting solutions with an eye toward broader use down the road, such as adding new services, and addressing the needs of changing target patient populations.
•     Understand current challenges and investigate local and regional efforts that are continuing to chip away at these barriers. For example, in the U.S., new regulations have recently been announced that enable the credentialing of physicians who use telemedicine for remote care visits across state lines.2 In Australia, the Connecting Care program coordinated by New South Wales Health will be drawing on a number of products and services to support self monitoring and support solutions for patients with chronic conditions. The state-wide initiative will connect doctors, hospitals and community health services.3 Such knowledge can help organizations to shape a roadmap.

Click here to download the report.