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The
Sixth Annual Meeting and Exposition of the ATA was held
on June 3-6, 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. About 2000
individuals from various parts of the United States and over
40 countries attended the meeting. The scientific program
contained over 300 peer-reviewed presentations, and more than
100 exhibitors showcased the latest developments in technology
and services. By any measure, this was the largest and most
content-rich telemedicine meeting ever held anywhere. It was
apparent that recent slowdowns in e-health, health technology
and related sectors have only marginally affected the continued
evolution of telemedicine and the growth and stature of the
ATA.
Evolution
Of Telemedicine And The Growth Of ATA
At the
Opening Session, ATA President Rashid Bashshur put this development
in perspective, speaking about the birth, evolution, and current
status of telemedicine and the rapid growth of the ATA over
the past six years and its significance. Bashshur pointed
out that telemedicine was "borne of innocence" to
meet national needs in health care, with a diverse orientation,
and broad scope. It grew into a turbulent regulatory environment;
inconsistent federal policies; and slow acceptance by the
medical mainstream. He also pointed out that the flood of
consumer health information and risky new applications over
the Internet provide further problems that must be addressed.
However, despite these issues, telemedicine continues to develop,
and the ATA provides an appropriate organizational structure
and response.
Further
evidence of ATA's success as well as the maturation of telemedicine
generally was demonstrated in the growth of the Association's
Special Interest Groups (SIGs). The SIGs hosted special forums
during the meeting and several sponsored tutorials as well.
SIG leaders gave their annual reports at the Annual Business
Meeting including their agendas for the coming year and proposals
for wider adoption by the ATA. All SIGs reported record turnout
at their forums, and all proposed an active agenda for programs
and activities for the coming year. These include special
meetings, development of policy and clinical guidelines and
discussion groups. To support these expanded efforts, individual
Internet list servers and web pages will be available for
each SIG for communication among the members.
National
Policy Priorities
ATA members
voted to approve a set of national policy priorities for the
Association at the Annual Report Breakfast. The priorities
will guide the Association over the next year in educating
state, national, and international leaders regarding the appropriate
use of telemedicine. The Policy Committee, chaired by Thelma
McClosky Armstrong, developed the platform. The platform includes
a set of general principles and Association positions on reimbursement,
privacy, licensure, CPT codes, credentialing, telecommunication
regulation and federal research and demonstrations. The policy
priorities are available on the ATA web site.
International
Initiatives in Telemedicine
A major
theme throughout the meeting was the increasingly international
scope of telemedicine and the strong interest of the ATA in
promoting international collaboration. In addition to numerous
presentations about telemedicine activities and research in
other countries and efforts occurring between nations, over
250 delegates at this meeting were from other countries.
The international
theme was vividly demonstrated by Dr. Julio Frenk, the Minister
of Health for Mexico in his keynote speech at the opening
session. Frenk spoke eloquently about the importance of establishing
goals and measuring achievements in national healthcare systems
and compared the parameters of health system performance throughout
the world in terms of achieving health and equity and the
appropriate use of resources. He pointed out that telemedicine
has become an important means to fulfill the goals of efficient
and equitable health services by capitalizing on the potential
of telecommunications. Pursuant to this meeting, Frenk established
a high level task force to help integrate telemedicine into
Mexico's health services.
A new
International Pavilion on the exhibit floor provided a new
and important gathering point where delegates from the US
and other countries held informal discussions about approaches
taken to deploy telemedicine around the world. Representatives
from several nations provided informative displays in the
Pavilion about telemedicine activities in their respective
countries.
The Global
Federation of Telemedicine Organizations (GFTO) was formally
launched during ATA's annual meeting, and a draft Constitution
was adopted in general terms pending refinements and further
clarifications regarding membership and other organizational
matters within six months. Representatives from 25 countries
attended the meeting and voted unanimously to support the
formation of the GFTO and appointed a "work group"
to develop the final draft of the constitution, an explicit
statement on organizational issues and the election of officers.
New
and Expanded Partnerships
ATA continued
to emphasize the vital importance of partnerships with leading
national organizations and federal agencies in the growth
of telemedicine through the collaboration and cooperation.
The National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had a major presence
at this meeting through a mock up space station on the exhibit
floor and active participation in the plenary session and
the scientific program. One of the highlights of the opening
plenary session was a greeting from astronauts aboard the
International Space Station orbit 220 miles above earth. Dr.
Arnauld Nicogossian, Chief Medical Officer at NASA gave an
informative talk on the requirements of space medicine and
the agency's telemedicine efforts including active partnerships
with several countries.
The U.S.
military also continued to have an important role in the annual
meeting with its own scientific program, a major display on
the exhibit floor, and active participation from members of
the US Department of Defense throughout the program. Two leaders
from the U.S. Army spoke during plenary sessions. LTG James
B. Peake, Surgeon General of the U.S. Army commented that
the changing face of the U.S. military includes far reaching
operations with rising health costs and an increasing need
to leverage the use of advanced technology to provide medical
care for military personnel on various missions throughout
the world. Military medicine is in the process of reengineering
its services and inserting telemedicine and other technology
applications into the mainstream of health services. MG John
S. Parker, Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Research
& Materiel Command, now a familiar face at ATA meetings,
made another insightful and provocative presentation regarding
the challenges of implementing technology in health care.
Parker explained how telemedicine is beginning to shape the
environment and change behavior in the provision of healthcare.
He commented that telemedicine is a powerful tool for transforming
healthcare into a global right, but the focus must continue
to be on the people rather than the technology.
The Veterans
Health Administration (VHA) has also become an official partner
at the annual meeting of the ATA. The VHA held its second
annual VA Telemedicine Network meeting in conjunction with
ATA's annual meeting. About 100 VA delegates attended this
meeting. The VHA also participated in the exhibition with
a display of VHA sponsored telemedicine projects and activities.
ATA's
increasing interest in reaching out to other organizations
was highlighted by the participation of William E. Hammond,
Professor at Duke University School of Medicine and President-Elect
of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). Hammond
spoke eloquently of the need to address important issues in
the relationship between telemedicine and the overall healthcare
system as well as the need for interoperability standards
among different telemedicine components both domestically
and between nations.
Exhibitors
Report Serious, Focused Interest Among Consumers
The market
for telemedicine products and services appears to be holding
steady, if not expanding, according to ATA's corporate participants.
While high-tech and e-health companies have been experiencing
significant retrenchment in recent months, healthcare decision-makers
around the world seem to be turning to telemedicine to contain
cost and expand access to medical care.
More than
100 exhibitors showcased their products and services at the
exposition, apparently unaffected by the current downturn
in the economy. The number of exhibitors reserving for the
ATA 2002 meeting in Los Angeles is reassuring. Over 75% of
ATA's exhibitors committed for 2002 before leaving Fort Lauderdale,
which leaves open only 20% of the more than 100,000 square
feet of available exhibit space.
Venture
capital for telemedicine was the focus of a special roundtable
discussion involving three experts in venture capital markets,
Wall Street, and corporate venture partnering. The panelists
agreed that there is currently a serious downturn in the financial
markets affecting the availability of venture capital for
telemedicine. They also agreed that the growth of telemedicine
is inevitable as there is a critical business need for medicine
to accelerate the use of technology in health service delivery.
Mark Goldberg, Immediate Past President of ATA, opened the
session and Daniel Gold of Senior Reach, Inc. directed the
discussion. Other panelists included Ronen Gadot, Mark Mitchnick,
and Gary Simon.
ATA
President's Award Goes to Arizona, Other Awards Announced
The Arizona
Telemedicine Program received the 2001 ATA President's Award,
which was announced at the opening session. The Arizona program
is located at the Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson.
Ronald Weinstein, director of the program, received the award
on behalf of the institution.
Also during
the meeting, ten poster presentations received special recognition,
the Telemedicine and e-Health Journal announced its
annual paper of the year award and the military announced
its annual MRMC Thurman Award. A complete listing
of the awards is available on the ATA web site.
Obtaining
More Information From the Meeting
Additional
information about the presentations provided at the meeting
can be obtained in several ways. Abstracts of the presentations
were included in the Spring 2001 edition of the Telemedicine
and e-Health Journal. Many of the concurrent sessions
included PowerPoint
presentations and written handouts which are available
on the ATA website. Audiotapes of the sessions are available
for purchase at http://www.aven.com/index.cfm.
In addition, the official meeting photographer has photos
from the meeting available for viewing and sale at http://www.robertjamesphoto.com/01.06.03_ATA_3_4/.
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