Jordanian Government and Cisco roll out 'Tele-Health' network

A press conference to mark the occasion was held at the MENA ICT Forum, in the presence of H.E. Dr. Abdellatif Woreikat (Jordan's Minister of Health), Major General Dr. Khalaf Jader Al-Sarhan (Deputy Director General of Royal Medical Services), and Nisreen Qatamish Al-Kharabsheh (Director Jordan Breast Cancer Program). They were joined by Cisco's Ashraf Arafeh, General Manager, for Jordan and Laura Quintana, Senior Director of Corporate Affairs.

Through the JHI, Cisco and the Government of Jordan are providing thought leadership in ICT-enabled healthcare solutions and supporting the implementation of care-at-a-distance solutions. Leveraging Cisco HealthPresence solutions the JHI is facilitating access to quality healthcare services for patients and clinicians from two remote hospitals in northern and southern regions within Jordan, to specialists at an advanced hospital in the capital of Amman.

Highlights/Key Facts:
• Two HealthPresence clinics have now been successfully implemented and are fully operational. The first clinic, launched in June 2011 at Mafraq Governmental Hospital, connects patients from the Mafraq area in northeast Jordan with specialists (Dermatologists, Nephrologists, and Cardiologists) at Prince Hamzah Hospital in Amman. Subsequently, a second clinic was launched in September of 2012 at Queen Rania Hospital in Wadi Mousa, connecting patients from the remote area of south Jordan also with specialists at Prince Hamzah Hospital. As of the 28th February 2013, the clinics have facilitated 823 remote consultations between patients and specialists of which 21% of consultations were for children.
• A mobile health project orchestrated in collaboration with the Jordan Breast Cancer Program (JBCP) and King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) has also been operational since February 2013. Serving the female population from the Mafraq area, this is the first mobile cancer screening unit in Jordan to utilize Cisco technology solutions. A second mobile clinic is scheduled to go live in the summer 2013 timeframe. The Jordan Breast Cancer Program is a national program led and supported by the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, for the development and provision of comprehensive services for the early detection and screening of all women in Jordan. The Cisco solutions being utilised include Cisco TelePresence, high definition video conferencing and advanced audio, for the purpose of collaboration and communication between clinical staff; as well as Cisco networking and security technologies to facilitate the transfer of mammography images from the mammography unit at the mobile clinic to the radiology department at KHCC. In addition, Cisco digital media signage has been provided and is being used to educate patients and staff involved in the program.
• A clinical collaboration project with the Royal Medical Services (RMS) has also been launched. Phase 1 of this initiative will enable clinician-to-clinician collaboration using Cisco TelePresence technology and a third party mini-PACS solution. Clinicians from King Hussein Medical Center in Amman (KHMC) and Prince Zaid Bin Al-Hussein Hospital in Tafilah (PZH) will be able to communicate and collaborate on clinical cases, including sharing radiology images and reports. Phase II will focus on mammography images generated at PZH and the National Women's Health Care Center at Tafilah. RMS plays a key role in the Jordanian armed forces by providing healthcare services for the armed forces members and their families. It also provides comprehensive health insurance for more than a third of the kingdom and the provision of curative medical services in military hospitals for all citizens and residents in some governorates throughout Jordan.
• The Jordan Healthcare Initiative was originally initiated by His Majesty King Abdullah II and Cisco's Chairman and CEO John Chambers at the World Economic Forum's January 2010 Annual Meeting in Davos. The two leaders agreed to have their representatives explore opportunities for Cisco and the Jordanian government to collaborate to transform Jordan's healthcare delivery system. It is governed by a Steering Committee comprising committee members who include senior government healthcare representatives and a director from Cisco. The steering committee provides strategic direction for the JHI and has established a program management office that reports to the members and is responsible for all JHI operations.

H.E. Dr. Abdellatif Woreikat, Jordan's Minister of Health, "Healthcare initiatives remain a key priority for Jordan's National Agenda and we are impressed with the progress the Jordan Healthcare Initiative has made in just two years as well as the significant impact that its projects are having. For example, we are now able to provide specialty care services to two rural areas in north and southern Jordan in need of specialized clinical care in cardiology, nephrology, and dermatology. The patient sites are connected now to the 'national broadband network' thereby facilitating other connectivity dependent projects to be planned around this connectivity."

Major General Dr. Khalaf Jader Al-Sarhan, Deputy Director General of Royal Medical Services
"Working with Cisco is now enabling healthcare professionals in Jordan to collaborate more easily, regardless of location, thus improving both the timeliness and the quality of care delivered. Cisco's TelePresence solution which is allowing clinicians to collaborate with physicians and specialists in Jordan from remote locations is already helping to make a difference in our delivery of healthcare services in the Kingdom."

Nisreen Qatamish Al-Kharabsheh (Director Jordan Breast Cancer Program), "This initiative is crucial in addressing the availability and insufficient distribution of medical practitioners outside the capital, specifically in the southern region of the kingdom. With the introduction of Cisco technologies we will be more able to reach out to women in remote underserved areas with quality breast cancer screening services, and equal opportunity in saving all Jordanian women lives through breast cancer early detection"

Mohammad Tahboub, chairman of the Information Technology Association of Jordan, Int@j, "Our long term goal through the Jordan's Health Taskforce has always been to position Jordan as a regional hub for ICT solutions in the healthcare sector and it is our strategic collaboration with ICT companies, like Cisco, that is helping us to achieve this. To this end, we are very impressed with the progress the Jordan Healthcare Initiative has made in just two years as well as the significant impact that its projects are already having by making a difference for Jordanians in remote locations who couldn't otherwise have access to specialist medical treatment."

Laura Quintana, senior director of Corporate Affairs, Cisco, "From the onset Cisco's collaboration with the government of Jordan was focused on the objective to transform healthcare delivery and enable access to quality healthcare services for people in remote and underserved communities. Through the projects that are now active we are already alleviating the financial and time burdens associated with traveling from rural areas to receive clinical care and necessary follow up by specialists who, for the most part, are only available at healthcare facilities in Amman. The clinics are now effectively using communication, collaboration, and video technologies to provide "care-at-a-distance" for remote and underserved communities thereby creating a dynamic environment for patient care and delivering a face-to-face, true-to-life consultation experience between the patient and the provider. And most important, patients who have already benefited from treatment at the HealthPresence clinics are reporting that specialty consultations are having a positive impact on their lives.