The Doctor Will Video Conference With You Now

By Brian Orelli
July 16, 2009 | Comments (2)

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It's not quite Dr. Leonard McCoy's scanner from Star Trek, but the product being developed in a partnership between insurance giant UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and networking expert Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) is definitely pushing the envelope of health care.

The two are setting up a telemedicine network that will include video conferencing and even a remote stethoscope so doctors can listen to patients' hearts. UnitedHealth has already committed "tens of millions of dollars" to the effort.

The technology appears impressive, but it seems to me that this is a lot like the Segway or Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) new operating system: a very cool toy, but a ways away from revolutionizing health care for the average person.

It's not clear exactly how UnitedHealth is going to make money off this initiative. The first mobile units will roll into New Mexico next year in partnership with nonprofit Project Hope, which is presumably picking up some of the costs.

Ultimately though, this may not be a moneymaker, but a ploy to put UnitedHealth on the same side as the government in trying to lower health-care costs. Seeing patients in rural areas who might not get preventive care could save treatment costs that might be higher when the patients get worse.

The health insurance industry -- Humana (NYSE: HUM), Aetna (NYSE: AET), Coventry Health Care (NYSE: CVH), and the like -- desperately need some good publicity so that they don't come across as the money-grubbing corporations in the ongoing health-care debate. UnitedHealth made a similar move in May when it identified $540 billion in health-care cost savings that the government could reap over the next 10 years.

Telemedicine may not revolutionize the world, but just seeming useful may be enough to revive the sick patient.

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  • Report this Comment On July 17, 2009, at 9:49 AM, Publichealth wrote:

    Both Cisco and UHG have milked information and helped themselves to technology developed by physicians and scientists. To say they are the first to offer such services (in another article) is a lie, but they get away with it because they are who they are and can pump "tens of millions of dollars" into the program.

    I've been there, and they WILL make money off of this. In the beginning it will be publicity to try and get stock to go up. Eventually they will be adjudicating claims and charging America for the services like any other service they provide - except now they must pay CISCO too - now there are two publically traded companies ready to make a buck on sick America. I wish I could say that they were pioneers, but they are merely hiding behind the guise of a money machine. Ask McGuire.

    I'm not impressed with their assertions about themselves and how "they" developed this technology. I know who did, and UHG doesn't belong in the same room with these true scientists who have over 500,000 patient encounters via telemedicine.

    Why don't you just Ask UHG how they are going to make money off of this? They throw around the word "transparancy" like it is a unique idea. All of them should use the "fog" instead!

  • Report this Comment On July 19, 2009, at 12:07 PM, jpjhammond wrote:

    This is not exactly new technology. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has been using stethoscope technology on their telemedicine network for nearly ten years. UTMB will see over 70,000 patients this year. I'd say the folks at Cisco have a long way to go to catch up.

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