MEDICA: Networked into the Future - for Success

ICW solutions network private medical practices, hospitals, pharmacies, health insurers and patients with each other and ensure vital medical information is available when needed. ICW CEO Peter Reuschel explains: "The more care patients need, the more important it is for the productivity and quality of care that everyone involved can communicate with one another quickly and easily. The precondition for that is the best possible networking we provide with our technologies and partners. The principle at the heart of our philosophy is, to network existing systems rather than replacing them with new ones."

ICW Healthcare Connector for Secure Networking

For highly secure networking between medical service providers, ICW is presenting at the MEDICA for the first time its ICW Healthcare Connector, developed jointly with secunet Security Networks AG (secunet) based on SINA. The newly developed connector needs no active cooling thanks to its Intel Celeron M processor, which means it is completely quiet. The Healthcare Connector is based on the SINA technology from secunet, which has been serving to provide highly secure connections over public networks: For example, numerous government agencies use it for their data traffic at home and abroad. The attractively designed ICW Healthcare Connector based on SINA is the second connector to become available following on the ICW Healthcare Connector based on Cisco AXP, which has already been installed at over 500 locations.

Telemonitoring

At the MEDICA ICW will be introducing its new Care and Disease Manager for Telemonitoring (CDM-TM) for the first time as a stand-alone solution. CDM-TM enables persons with chronic diseases to get the best possible care management in their accustomed domestic setting, helping to eliminate unnecessary hospitalization. Patients simply measure their own disease-relevant vital signs such as blood pressure or weight using easily-operated devices. The measurement data is forwarded automatically to a Telemedical Center for analysis by medical experts. When a deterioration of the patient's condition can be foreseen an intervention can occur without delay. In Germany, CDM-TM is already in use for thePartnership for the Heartproject conducted by the Charité university medical center in Berlin and for theCARDIO Integralcontract program of AOK PLUS in Saxony.

Storing Measurements in the LifeSensor Personal Health Record

Monitoring vital data over extended periods of time can give effective early warning of disease and better results from preventative care. ICW will be demonstrating how any LifeSensor user can quickly and easily document and analyze measurements online, using measuring devices from Biocomfort and Beurer as examples. The devices are connected to a computer at home using a small software tool, LifeSensor Connect, which manages the flow of data between the devices and the personal health record. In the personal health record, measurements can be followed over extended time periods, graphically displayed and analyzed, so progress and trends can easily be seen. A user's doctors can also have access to the collected data when the user permits.

Optimized Discharge Management with eHealth

Hospital patients usually just want to get back to their own four walls as soon as possible. But often, patients must remain in the hospital because some vital sign needs periodic monitoring. This is where eDischarge, an eHealth-based solution for discharge management, comes into the picture: Patients that do not absolutely need to remain hospitalized can request a LifeSensor personal health record and one or more measuring devices. The measurements they take at home can be monitored by hospital doctors over the health record. That means, the patient can be recalled at any time for additional treatment if anything suspicious occurs. eDischarge is being offered in four incremental versions: From a light version that needs nothing more than an Internet connection all the way up to a workflow-oriented integrative solution with complete connectivity to ICW Professional Exchange Server and Care and Disease Manager Telemonitoring.

We will gladly provide image material about the eHealth solutions upon request.

title="Initiates file download"