Mobile operator Sprint has announced a partnership with BL Healthcare, a remote health management services company, that sees the operator providing 3G connectivity to BL's telemedicine devices. BL announced a similar deal with Verizon Wireless last year and also announced an expanded partnership with Verizon Wireless for its high definition touchscreen devices at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year.
"The new embedded devices join a current ecosystem of wireline and wireless touch screen, kiosk and television-based solutions that enable patients to take a more proactive role in the management of his or her care plan," according to the Sprint-BL press release. "The expanded range of capabilities now includes HD multipoint video conferencing, multimedia support for educational programs, instant messaging, real-time alerts and notifications, and the ability to communicate with a wide range of vital sign measurement and peripheral medical devices. BL Healthcare solutions are FDA cleared and HIPAA compliant for patient confidentiality."
At the HIMSS event in Orlando next week, Lancaster General Health, a regional health care system serving Lancaster County in Pennsylvania will demo BL Healthcare's Sprint-enabled kiosk, which is running on Sprint's 4G network.
"Wireless technologies, 3G and 4G in particular, have really established telemedicine systems as the future of health care,” William Dunstan, vice president of home health services with Lancaster General Health stated in the release. “With functionality such as embedded multipoint videoconferencing, multimedia support, instant messaging, real-time alerts, and the ability to communicate with multiple wired and wireless vital sign measurement and peripheral medical devices hospitals and home health agencies are able to reduce costs while greatly improving the quality of care.”
For more on the partnership, read the press release after the jump.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced that it has partnered with BL Healthcare, a leading provider of next-generation remote health management solutions to the health care industry and participating partner in the Sprint M2M Collaboration Center, to provide 3G connectivity to its latest lineup of telemedicine solutions. BL Healthcare currently offers several solutions that allow patients to securely receive professional medical care in their homes, at work, at nursing and assisted living homes, and remote clinics such as pharmacies or retail stores. The solutions allow the right medical professionals to deliver appropriate care from any remote location.
“We are proud to expand our relationship with an established leader in the development of innovative health care solutions around new technology”
The new embedded devices join a current ecosystem of wireline and wireless touch screen, kiosk and television-based solutions that enable patients to take a more proactive role in the management of his or her care plan. The expanded range of capabilities now includes HD multipoint video conferencing, multimedia support for educational programs, instant messaging, real-time alerts and notifications, and the ability to communicate with a wide range of vital sign measurement and peripheral medical devices. BL Healthcare solutions are FDA cleared and HIPAA compliant for patient confidentiality.
Many home-based health care applications and services providers have already embraced wireline, as well as wireless 2G and 3G technologies and, with the availability of 4G mobile networks, wireless device and service connectivity will continue to power the future home care industry, which is expected to top $4 billion by 2013. Perhaps the biggest opportunity for wireless-enabled home care products includes the management of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes which, according to the CDC, accounts for 70 percent of all deaths in the United States, and are among the most common, costly and preventable of all health problems.
“We believe Sprint’s unique combination of network assets and open architecture provide key components in the development of next-generation of remote health care-related services,” said Michael Mathur, president and CEO of BL Healthcare. “We are excited to enter this partnership with Sprint and develop a new standard for health care management that offers dramatic improvements in the overall quality and efficiency of health care while reducing costs.”
In addition to the availability of embedded 3G devices, Sprint, BL Healthcare and representatives from Lancaster General Health, a regional health care system serving Lancaster County in Pennsylvania and BL Healthcare customer, will provide a first look at a kiosk demo powered by 4G at the Sprint booth (#2551) during the 2011 Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference in Orlando.
“Wireless technologies, 3G and 4G in particular, have really established telemedicine systems as the future of health care,” said William Dunstan, vice president of home health services with Lancaster General Health. “With functionality such as embedded multipoint videoconferencing, multimedia support, instant messaging, real-time alerts, and the ability to communicate with multiple wired and wireless vital sign measurement and peripheral medical devices hospitals and home health agencies are able to reduce costs while greatly improving the quality of care.”
The next-generation BL Healthcare remote health management platform also offers an alternative approach for health care application developers and other health care service providers to generate incremental revenue by marketing innovative new applications and services that leverage their expertise and protocols.
“We are proud to expand our relationship with an established leader in the development of innovative health care solutions around new technology,” said Tim Donahue, vice president of Industry Solutions, Sprint. “BL Healthcare remote health care solutions are an excellent example of how wireless technologies, combined with mobile machine-to-machine applications, can transform health care by boosting efficiency, raising quality and improving access, regardless of location, age, gender or disability.”
Powered by the Sprint nationwide network, including the first wireless 4G network from a national carrier, Sprint is a leader in providing health care companies with a full range of wireless and wireline data services and unmatched expertise with embedded mobile computing and M2M communications, enabling them to bring new products to market. To learn more about Sprint's health care solutions, click here or visit www.sprint.com/healthcare.
Sprint Emerging Solutions Group is an industry leader in M2M and embedded solutions, delivering a full complement of assets critical to successful M2M and embedded solutions deployments. These include: network agnostic capabilities (including 3G, 4G, CDMA, iDEN, and a reliable Tier 1 IP network); specialized industry solutions engineering teams; an open approach to devices and applications through the company’s Open Device Initiative, an expansive M2M partner ecosystem; and the ability to provide customers with customized solutions that can include distribution, branding, billing and customer care services. To learn more, view this special “What if …” M2M video and visit www.sprint.com/m2m.
About BL Healthcare
BL Healthcare (www.blhealthcare.com), based in Foxboro, Mass., is a leading provider of next generation remote health management solutions to the Healthcare Industry. Leveraging the convergence of the Internet, Broadband technology, and Open Systems, BL Healthcare provides innovative solutions for linking members, providers, and caregivers for the monitoring and management of wellness and disease states at distributed points of health care access, particularly in the patient’s home. For further information, please contact BL Healthcare at (508) 543-4150 – info@BLHealthcare.com.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 49.9 million customers at the end of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
