The lecture was on eHealth, which is being adapted widely, from primary to tertiary healthcare in many countries.. Especially, using more appropriate and relevant technologies, such as mobile technologies in tele-health and health informatics.

Dr. Angelo Ramos, a physician by training and an expert in public health education and promotion began with a presentation on From Euphoria to Pragmatism: The experience and potentials of eHealth in Asia. He pointed out that a vast expanse of research on eHealth has been conducted in developed countries. He emphasized the benefits of eHealth and how  governments and other stakeholders can help to improve it. (Click here for the full presentation)

A panel discussion on eHealth followed after Dr. Ramos lecture. The panelists were Dr. Vinya S. Ariyaratne, General Secretary of the Lanka Jatika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya, Sri Lanka, and member of the LIRNEasia Board; Prof. Gordon Gow, Associate Professor in Communication and Technology at the University of Alberta, Canada; Prof. Jayantha Weerasinghe, Professor and Consultant-Surgeon in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery affiliated with the Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya,Sri Lanka, and Dr. Angelo Ramos. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Nuwan Waidyanatha, Project Director of LIRNEasia’s mHealth pilot project, ‘Evaluating a real-time bio-surveillance program (RTBP)’

Dr. Ariyaratne explained  that Community empowering is an  important aspect. Rural areas lack access to ICTs.

Prof. Weerasinghe pointed out that they are using remote learning for the best of Patients. Medical faculty and Engineering faculty of Saga in Japan helped develop a system which can be used to aid online interaction between medical specialists in Japan and local patients (joint consultation). (Click here for the abstract )

Taking RTBP as an example, Dr. Gow showed the audience how technology was expensive some years back how it will  be available and more affordable in a  few years. (click here for the presentation)

The discussion ended, emphasizing the necessity of public-private partnerships in aiding sustainability of future eHealth initiatives.

Patients use the service by logging on to participating health plans’ Web sites. Doctors hold 10-minute appointments, which can be extended for a fee, and can file prescriptions and view patients’ medical histories through the system. American Well is working with HealthVault, Microsoft’s electronic medical records service, and ActiveHealth Management, a subsidiary of Aetna, which scans patients’ medical history for gaps in their previous care and alerts doctors during their American Well appointment.

The Hawaiian health plan’s 700,000 members pay $10 to use the service. The insurer also offers the service to uninsured patients for $45. Health plans pay American Well a license fee per member and a transaction fee of about $2 each time a patient sees a doctor.