The preliminary Med-e-Tel 2017 conference program (April 5-7) is available at www.medetel.eu. The event also features 2 pre-conference sessions on the afternoon of April 4th, on the topics of " Telecardiology" and " Social Media & Beyond: The Interaction Between Patients and Health Professionals".

With teleconsultation and telehealth visits becoming increasingly popular and important, and also being a strong point of interest for many members of the ISfTeH network, the Med-e-Tel conference program will feature a special session and round table on this topic. A recent survey in the US showed strong interest in telehealth visits for primary and chronic care, with 20% of respondents even willing to switch providers so they could get online/video consults. The session will bring together teleconsultation service providers and technology providers as well as other stakeholders to present practical examples and experiences of sustainable teleconsultation services and to provide a look at operational business models, clinical and economic outcomes, user acceptance, technologies used, and more. Look for more details in upcoming newsletters!

The Med-e-Tel 2017 conference program also includes sessions on " Pharmacy and m/eHealth" (presented in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union - PGEU), " Primary Care", " Mental Health", " Telenursing, Women's and Maternal Health", " Disease Management and Remote Monitoring", " Education/eLearning", and much more.

The Agence eSanté Luxembourg (Luxembourg's national eHealth agency) will present on " artificial intelligence for decision support" and " multidisciplinary consultation meetings and coordination (specifically in oncology)". And together with mHealth Quality, Med-e-Tel will present a round table on " Quality of mHealth Apps". More details available soon!

The preliminary conference program details are available here.

Join us and be a part of this exciting program and networking event. Hear from and meet with colleagues from around the world, and develop new partnerships and collaboration. Register now at www.medetel.eu. Or contact [email protected] for more information.

Early-bird registration for Med-e-Tel 2017 is currently available. Register now and gain access to all conference sessions and to the expo/networking area, as well as two evening networking receptions. There are also options for 1-day registrations. Fees and conditions can been found here.

If you are participating at Med-e-Tel 2017, note that several hotels in Luxembourg city offer rooms at preferential rates. To take advantage of their offer, submit your reservation before the end of this month (February) as the rooms are only being held available until then. Click here for info and conditions and for a link to the reservation forms.

For airtravel to Luxembourg, Air France/KLM offer discounts on European and intercontinental flights. Click here for details and for access to their reservation page.

Med-e-Tel 2017 will feature a pre-conference " Telecardiology Workshop" in which practical and long-time experiences of telecardiology and tele-ECG services will be presented as well as new approaches and successful applications in cardiac monitoring and data analysis, and technological solutions and platforms.

The workshop addresses issues related to the implementation, operation and (financial) sustainability of telecardiology networks and provides an overview of tele-ECG methods and achievements.

The workshop is aimed at professionals from both the health sector (doctors, nurses) and IT areas, and at hospital administrators, medical centers or organizations providing or looking to expand their (tele)cardiology services or to introduce telecardiology services, as well as interested professionals coming from regions and institutions where there is a shortage or lack of cardiology assistance.

Topics will include a review of telemedicine in heart failure, new developments in tele-ECG supporting cardiologists in the interpretation of ECGs, mobile tele-ECG, telecardiology "work care" program for employees (at remote locations), integrated remote patient monitoring software solutions for patients with heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia, telemedicine solutions for early detection of endothelial dysfunction, and more.

If you would like to attend this workshop, contact us at [email protected] for more information and registration.

Social Media are increasingly employed by patients who are seeking health information and are involved in their care. Patients and caregivers can reach peers, find support and expertise, and ultimately be more empowered to be engaged in health activities and decisions.

Nevertheless, despite the exciting possibilities of Social Media, there are several challenges to be addressed, such as an overwhelming and often conflicting body of available information, a variable level of health and digital literacy of the population, and concerns on confidentiality and data security.

In a pre-conference workshop to the Med-e-Tel 2017 conference, the ISfTeH Social Media Working Group (SoMe) and two research units of the University of Luxembourg will offer a panorama of the Social Media applications that have been used until now, and explore the perspectives of health care professionals and patients. The workshop will explore the limits and potential of Social Media, and reflect on the impact and consequences of their use, especially with regard to privacy, social responsibility, efficacy and effectiveness and the return of investment.

Contents of the session will focus on Social Media communication between patients and health care professionals, patients' needs and professionals' expectations, best practices (what are the rules, guidelines, privacy, crisis management with real examples), strategies and panorama of solutions.

If you are interested in attending this workshop, contact [email protected] for more information and registration.

LindaCare, a software company specializing in the field of remote patient monitoring solutions for chronic disease patients, has announced that it will open a new customer support facility in Connecticut to support growing interest in their vendor-neutral software platform for monitoring patients with chronic heart disease and other conditions.

The announcement of the launch into the US market follows substantial interest in LindaCare's solutions at the Heart Rhythm Society conference last year. The award of a $500,000 investment from Connecticut Innovations (CI) following success in their VentureClash investment challenge has allowed LindaCare to accelerate their plans to invest beyond their European base.

"LindaCare's mission is to reduce the cost of delivery of care and improve quality of care and patient safety for chronic disease management through remote patient monitoring. Recent changes in insurance programs have created a huge demand shift that will drive this market forward rapidly. This, combined with the validation of our business model by CI creates a huge opportunity for LindaCare in the US market," said Shahram Sharif, CEO and founder of LindaCare.

LindaCare's first version of the product is a web-based software platform for the remote patient monitoring of patients with CIEDs and suffering from chronic heart failure (CHF) and cardiac arrhythmia; this accounts for an estimated total of about 10 million patients worldwide today.

"This is a strategic step in our vision to be the leading global partner for all remote patient monitoring needs, across a range of devices covering multiple chronic disease domains, including chronic heart diseases and extending into other areas such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)," Sharif added.

Miguel Maquieira, CTO and co-founder of LindaCare indicated that a significant research and development phase is completing and the US expansion will allow a new software suite and service model to be announced simultaneously in Europe and the US in the next few weeks.

More information on LindaCare is available at www.lindacare.com. Or contact LindaCare to meet them at Med-e-Tel 2017.

Patrycja Wizinska-Socha, CEO of Nestmedic, which has developed a portable device for testing the condition of the fetus in the last weeks of pregnancy, has been awarded by MIT Technology Review the honorary title 'Innovators Under 35 in Poland' and a special mention in the 'Innovator Of The Year 2016' competition. This competition recognizes leaders in various fields of new technology that will contribute to solving global problems and improve the quality of life in the world.

Patrycja Wizinska-Socha, a medical doctor, is the co-founder and president of Nestmedic, the company that developed Pregnabit - portable monitoring device to allows safe and reliable examination of the fetal heart rate, pulse rate, and uterus contractions. Data collected by the device are transmitted wirelessly to a Medical Telemonitoring Center - teleCTG, supported by qualified medical personnel and operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"Pregnabit is designed to help pregnant women, for whom prevention is particularly important. Ongoing monitoring of fetal health can significantly reduce the level of perceived future mum stress and have a positive impact on the overall well-being and mental condition. Early detection of threats, including by measuring CTG, may be a real contribution to the rapid response and implementation of appropriate medical procedure," says Patrycja Wizinska-Socha.

See here for Patrycja Wizinska-Socha's presentation at Med-e-Tel 2016 with data on pregnant women's and midwives' interest in and acceptance of this technological solution. Nestmedic will also be at Med-e-Tel 2017 again. Contact them to set up a meeting.

International SOS, an ISfTeH corporate member and the world's leading medical and travel security risk services company, has been awarded the ISO/TS 13131:2014 certification, for the high standards of its TeleHealth services. This is the second consecutive year International SOS has achieved this benchmark. Awarded by BSI (British Standards Institution), the scheme was launched last year and sets out quality criteria for the delivery of telehealth services. The BSI auditor assessed remote medical assistance, clinical governance and quality management protocols, the ability to meet legal requirements and to protect patient data.

Neil Nerwich, Group Medical Director of Assistance at International SOS, said, "We know that our TeleHealth service is vitally important to our clients and their mobile workers, and take pride in delivering a high quality service, both medically and technically. When delivered to a high standard, telehealth can save significant amounts of time and assist in business continuity, while helping employees by ensuring that they have access to timely and accurate medical assistance whenever and wherever they need it. TeleHealth is part of our industry leading medical and travel security risk mitigation services, enabling organisations to ensure the health and wellbeing of their mobile workforce. We invest heavily in quality programmes and this certification recognizes our industry leadership in developing and deploying market-leading, secure technological solutions coupled with the high standard of medical services across our platform."

International SOS has provided remote medical services since 1985.  The global TeleHealth services platform provides medical information, advice and referrals around the clock to clients travelling or working abroad and managed 4.6m calls globally through its Assistance Centres in 2015. The integrated solution also provides immediate access to security experts for real time information and advice.

For more information about International SOS TeleHealth services, go to www.internationalsos.com/telehealth. Or meet International SOS representatives at Med-e-Tel 2017! They will be speaking at Med-e-Tel on the topic of " Improving Healthcare in Remote Environments via a New Integrated, Online Communication Platform" and will participate in a panel discussion on teleconsultation services.

French eHealth leader Maincare Solutions/IDO-in are part of a consortium that is implementing the technical infrastructure of the OIIS program ( Océan Indien Innovation Santé - Indian Ocean Health Innovation) on the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean. OIIS is the eHealth response to one of the biggest health challenges facing the Indian Ocean: chronic diseases. Its aim is to improve the health and quality of life of patients suffering from these diseases, with the help of new technologies.


The project includes a portal for health professionals to offer better care for patients with "complex" pathologies and provides:

• coordination assistance to facilitate the exchange between health professionals
• efficient healthcare tools accessible in real time and on mobile platforms
• secure access to patient information

A patient portal is also being developed and will provide personalized online information and services, and eHealth tools to improve the population's health and quality of life.

More information (in French) is available at www.oiis-programme.re, www.maincare.com and www.ido-in.com.

Zebra Academy, founded in February 2015 as a spin-off of the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium), recently won the MIC (Microsoft Innovation Center) Acceleration Program Final. Zebra's vision is to bring innovative telemedicine solutions to the market backed up with strong research and user feedback for pre-, in- and post-hospital diagnosis and follow-up of patients.

Zebra Academy's ambulance solutions streamline urgent patient care by integrating pre-hospital and in-hospital procedures. By virtually bringing the medical expert in the ambulance, they believe it is possible to save those precious minutes that will make the difference in outcome for patients while the ambulance staff is taking care of them. Critical data (such as vital parameters, symptoms, etc.) can already be gathered and shared with the hospital staff (e.g. radiologist, neurologist, nurse) through the Zebra Web Platform in order to be ready for the arrival of the patient.

Commenting on the reasons to join the acceleration program, Bastien Ritzen (Zebra Academy's CEO and Co-Founder) said: "As an entrepreneur, it is important to participate in programs like the MIC Brussels' Acceleration Program in order to get external advice on what we are doing. We are so much into it and there are always so many things to do that we don't always take the time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The difficulty is to find the right balance between coaching programs and dealing with all the necessary tasks to start the company."

"The acceleration program helped us to close deals with new customers, find new implementation possibilities for our solution outside the ambulance, and test a new business model with the aim to close deals faster. We also closed a grant from the European Commission during the program," concluded Ritzen.

More information about Zebra Academy is available at www.zebra-telemedicine.com.

To follow are links to some interesting and recently published articles, books, studies, interviews and reports (if you would like to suggest an article for inclusion into a following newsletter, feel free to send details to [email protected]):

• Research of mHealth Apps Reveals Significant Gaps in Quality (Healthcare Informatics)
• Will Physicians Become Obsolete? (eyeforpharma)
• Study: Doctors need clear strategy for evaluating and recommending mHealth apps (HealthcareITNews)
• mHealth and social media interventions for cancer (mHealth)
• Telephone GP consultations show promise - report (digitalhealth.net)
• American Well CEO: Telehealth Must Integrate With the Home and the Hospital (mHealthIntelligence)
• IntelliCare: An Eclectic, Skills-Based App Suite for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety (Journal of Medical Internet Research)
• The Benefits and Challenges of Telehealth for Specialists (mHealthIntelligence)
• AHA urges CMS to cover telehealth services for cardiovascular disease, stroke (Cardiovascular Business)
• The Associations Among Individual Factors, eHealth Literacy, and Health-Promoting Lifestyles Among College Students (Journal of Medical Internet Research)
• Telemedicine Technologies and Services Market: Driven by increase in Global Geriatric Population and Advances in Mobile Penetration (medGadget)
• Assessment of Utilization and Cost-Effectiveness of Telemedicine Program in Western Regions of China: A 12-Year Study of 249 Hospitals Across 112 Cities (Telemedicine and e-Health)
• Cost-Utility Analysis of a Cardiac Telerehabilitation Program: The Teledialog Project (Telemedicine and e-Health)
• Dr Chris Mimnagh: Telemedicine should be as simple as Alexa (GP)
• Continuous, Connected Care- Remote patient monitoring is critical in terms of care and forging patient and referral partner relationships. Where does it stand and where is it heading? (HME Business)
• Qld health service expects to save millions with telehealth (iT News)
• Toward Patient-Centered Telerehabilitation Design: Understanding Chronic Pain Patients' Preferences for Web-Based Exercise Telerehabilitation Using a Discrete Choice Experiment (Journal of Medical Internet Research)
• Remote Monitoring of Patients With Heart Failure: An Overview of Systematic Reviews (Journal of Medical Internet Research)
• American Well survey: most people want video visits, 20 percent would switch doctors to get them (mobihealthnews)
• With telemedicine, there's no waiting room (IBM)
• Wanted: Business model for remote patient monitoring, mHealth (Healthcare Innovation)
• Sweden unveils 2017-2019 eHealth action plan (Joinup)
• How Digital, Health Literacy Drives mHealth Patient Engagement (PatientEngagementHIT)