Wednesday, July 14, 2010

You can find us on the road, connecting people across the country with the latest innovation in health care – Part 1

Pop quiz: What has 18 wheels, works by satellite and makes it possible for a doctor to examine a patient from thousands of miles away?

It’s UnitedHealthcare’s Connected Care demonstration truck, setup as a mobile showcase of our latest innovation. Wherever it parks, the truck opens up for tours and demonstrations of the telehealth technology we’re using to establish permanent “Connected Care” clinics in cities across the country.

These Connected Care clinics combine audio and video technology and cutting-edge health care resources to greatly expand physicians’ reach into rural, urban and other underserved areas. The clinics can be set up wherever needed: in the workplace, in a city center, at a retail location or in rural areas to create a virtual office visit for people who don’t have the means or ability to travel to a doctor for an in-person examination. Doctors can see and hear the patient live from their locations in real time, and patients can see and hear a doctor live on a high-definition screen at their telehealth clinic location.

So far, we’ve launched a few pilot clinics around the country, but we’re still working on building Connected Care into a national network. That’s why we’re taking our mobile truck around to show doctors and other medical professionals, employers, insurance brokers and the general public how telehealth technology works.

The UnitedHealth Group Connected Care mobile clinic is on a nationwide tour. After setting up shop in Erie, Pa last weekend outside of Jerry Uht Park, home of the Erie SeaWolves minor league baseball team, the truck will be here in Philadelphia on Thursday for our Summer Splash event with Mayor Michael Nutter!

The mobile demonstration clinic is pretty impressive to see in person – at 80 feet in length, the truck is longer than a standard tennis court and can send voice, video and data to a satellite 22,300 miles above the Earth in about a quarter-second. And with stops across the country scheduled all the way into the winter, it could be on its way to a city near you. Make sure to stop by and experience firsthand how telehealth technology can transform our health care system.

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