Regional telecoms provider C&W Business is flexing its muscles as it campaigns for advancement in the delivery of telehealth services in the Caribbean.

Telehealth refers to the delivery of medical and health-care services using telecommunications technology. Aspects of telehealth include digitalising patient records, improving patient processing digitally, remote consultation, and electronic monitoring of patient’s health status and diet.

Over the last two months, C&W Business has been outlining its plans to support the increased adoption and implementation of telehealth in the region, beginning with CANTO held in Florida, USA, last month. That support was further evident at the Telehealth: Caribbean Connected conference at Iberostar in St James, August 18-20.

Hosted by the International Society of Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH), which has over the last 26 year has focused on expanding access to health care through telemedicine, the conference was sponsored by C&W Business. The conference brought together medical practitioners in both public and private sectors as well as policymakers.

“Our objective for the conference was to facilitate [discussion] that was being led by ISfTeH. It was their first conference in the region and they chose to do it in Jamaica and they want to invest time, their expertise and network in the development of telehealth solutions and practice in the Caribbean,” Carole Robinson, senior business development partner, C&W Business, told Jamaica Observer.

“Because we are intent on being enablers of emerging technologies, telemedicine being one, we thought it prudent to demonstrate our support,” she continued.

The telecoms provider’s delivery of telehealth services is part of a continuum of providing technological developments on the region, as it has done over several decades with the introduction of the cellphone and Internet, according to Robinson. As such, the company’s partnership with ISfTeH and other stakeholders to support the proliferation of telehealth services will be underpinned by its provision of telecommunications services and Internet connectivity.

While pointing out that neither telemedicine nor telehealth are new developments, Robinson reiterated that C&W Business’ aim is to make technology available when it is emerging and then we support the market with its adoption and execution so that, in this case, health-care providers can be more efficient and for citizens to have better access to health-care services.

“So in the telehealth space, it’s a similar thing [where] we’d have noticed that the technologies around telehealth were emerging and…that’s where we started because we own the network in the region, we own the network in Jamaica,” Robinson explained.

“But what we’re trying to do right now, because technology is emerging and it’s changing so rapidly, it requires a level of expertise and the time that our corporations and our public sector organisations spend trying to determine what best solution fits and how to deploy it and how to integrate it, we take that burden from them, and so they get the opportunity to focus on their core,” she added.

The C&W Business representative believes that given the high incidences of non-communicable diseases, the Caribbean and Jamaica in particular is well positioned to take advantage of telehealth solutions. This more so as a preventative measure.

“What the Caribbean needs to do is leverage telehealth to further improve the quality of health care and the ultimate goal is to move from a reactive position where we are seeing symptoms and reacting to symptoms but rather dealing with preventative care,” Robinson asserted, adding that data sharing would be critical to achieving this.

Panellists at Telehealth: Caribbean Connect have observed that more people are travelling to address health issue. In this regard, they urged more collaboration to create more synergies and opportunities to accelerate telehealth usage. In this regard, Robinson made the case for electronic health records.

“We can unify the data so that a physician in one country can get the full scope on a patient’s disposition and that will improve the kind of care they get,” she informed Business Observer .

With regard to the deployment of telehealth solutions, the needs of service providers may differ based on their size, budget and the solution they will need. When asked if investing in telehealth is a capital-intensive investment, Robinson stated that it depends on the goals of the organisation.

She therefore recommends that health-care providers begin where they have the most impact, and embark on continuous improvement over time.

“There are incremental steps because the field has a lot to offer,” she said.

“So it’s for persons to understand what is the area of operation they want to be most impactful [in] , then come to us so we can find a solution that best suits you based on budget, location, volume of patients, and the characteristics of the solution,” Robinson further noted.