Polycom Partners with Medical Missions For Children
to Improve Pediatric Medical Care in Underserved Countries
Video communications enables physicians to remotely diagnose and treat patients
in underserved countries, enhancing ability of local hospitals to effectively care for children with severe medical conditions.
MILPITAS, Calif. and PATERSON, New Jersey, May 8, 2002 - (NASDAQ: PLCM), a worldwide leader in the convergence of interactive voice, video, data and web communications, today announced a partnership with Medical Missions for Children (MMC) to provide video communications equipment, financial aid and technical support to expand the MMC Global Telemedicine and Teaching Network. Through the use of the telemedicine network, MMC is elevating the level of pediatric care available to children with severe medical conditions living in medically underserved areas of the U.S. and foreign countries.
The MMC Global Telemedicine and Teaching Network is made possible through a group of volunteer physicians and hospitals in the U.S. and partners including the United Nations, The Brody School of Medicine, the United States Agency for International Development, the World Bank and Polycom. As the newest partner, Polycom will donate its industry-leading ViewStation® video communications systems, along with providing financial assistance and technical support and training to MMC for its expanding network.
"With today's video communications technology, we have the means to help children around the world by dramatically enhancing a physician's ability to save and improve lives, whether they are treating a patient in rural America or in a medically underserved country halfway around the globe," said Frank Brady, founder and chairman of Medical Missions for Children. "Through the heroic efforts of our volunteer physicians and our partners, we are creating a network that will positively impact the pediatric mortality rate of children living with severe medical conditions in remote and underserved areas. The ability to educate physicians regarding new medicines and procedures and to assist in effectively diagnosing and treating patients over great distances through face-to-face interaction and real-time data exchange creates a new paradigm for international pediatric medicine."
The network allows participating hospitals in developing countries to contact hospitals and medical specialists in the United States for assistance diagnosing and treating children with severe medical conditions. The initial contact is made via e-mail or fax to the MMC Help Desk describing the problem and the help requested. MMC then contacts the appropriate U.S. children's hospital and arranges for a telemedicine conference.
The U.S. doctors, using video communications with data-sharing technology, see the patient, their test results and medical records in "real time" and are able to consult face to face with the attending doctor even though they may be several thousands of miles away. In addition, the video communications systems are used by equipment technicians to direct repairs of critical medical equipment, which increases the availability of life-saving hospital resources. Also, MMC organizes educational symposiums over video communications to disseminate information more efficiently to physicians in the medically underserved countries about effective new procedures and medicines.
MMC's goal is to aid 10,000 seriously ill children directly and 50,000 to 100,000 children indirectly through its Global Telemedicine and Teaching Network. MMC hopes to expand its network to 20 underserved countries over the next 18 months. Countries currently participating in the program include Bolivia, Panama, Nicaragua, the Republic of Georgia and Uzbekistan. Currently 15 major U.S. hospitals participate in the MMC network, including St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center and School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
"Medical Missions for Children is opening a new door in global pediatric medicine by removing the barrier of distance and creating a network that allows a physician in an underserved area to receive assistance with diagnosing and treating patients from an expert located a world away," said Dr. William Bithoney, chairman of the department of pediatrics and physician in chief at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. "This program has significant potential to dramatically improve the ability of hospitals in medically underserved areas to effectively treat pediatric patients with severe conditions. In addition, the educational programs and face-to-face interaction and information exchange allows physicians to share knowledge and techniques that can be applied to future patients, thereby progressively improving the overall level of care available."
In poor nations, children under five years of age bear 30 percent of the total burden of disease. Of the 11 million children under five years of age who die each year, more than 85 percent are from medically underserved countries. This translates to 40,000 children dying each day. In most hospitals in underserved communities the pediatric death rate ranges between 20 percent to 50 percent, compared to just two to four percent in the United States, according to the World Health Organization.
"Medical Missions for Children has a very noble charter - to improve the level of pediatric medical care in underserved areas - and we are honored to support their efforts with our video communications technology, which enables physicians to collaborate in real-time and help improve the lives of children across distances and across cultures," said Barry Walker, vice president of video communications marketing at Polycom. "Video communications has seemingly limitless applications, but none have the ability to impact a person's life as directly as telemedicine. We are pleased to join Medical Missions for Children and its partners in building out the global telemedicine network and extending medical care to those in need."
About Medical Missions for Children
Medical Missions for Children (MMC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to elevating the care of catastrophically ill children in underserved U.S. and international communities. MMC created and manages its programs through the organization's Global Telemedicine and Teaching Network™ (GTTN) - an interactive, satellite and Internet-based communications platform. The Global Telemedicine & Teaching Network supports the real-time treatment of remote, critically ill children, and through a fully FCC licensed broadcast station, WMMC, broadcasts worldwide an extensive program of continuing medical education. Medical Missions for Children is headquartered at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, NJ. Visit for additional information.
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