Computerworld - Passengers and crew aboard Princess Cruises' Ocean Princess can now call on the services of 110 medical specialists at the Cleveland Clinic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., should they develop a medical condition which the onboard medical director and staff can't handle, thanks to a pioneering telemedicine program that links the ship to the clinic via a 64kbps satellite connection.
Dr. Umberto Orazi, chairman of the maritime department at the Cleveland Clinic, said the telemedicine suite on the Ocean Princess consists of a digital x-ray machine and video teleconferencing equipment (VTC). This allows the ship to take x-rays and then allow medical experts in Florida to view them, with the VTC link providing face-to-face consultations between the shipboard patient and physicians at the clinic.
The telemedicine suite also includes vital signs monitors, such as electrocardiogram machines that can be read remotely in real time at a PC installed in the Clinic's emergency room. "We cannot put a lot of specialists onboard ocean liners," said Orazi, a former ship doctor with Princess.
Even though Los Angeles-based Princess Cruises is the only cruise line that offers a telemedicine program (the services are also provided onboard the Grand Princess), Orazi believes "telemedicine is the future of ships medicine," with Holland-American Lines in Seattle planning to establish a similar service with the Cleveland Clinic on its new ships.
Besides providing advanced medical services to the cruise industry, the telemedicine system can also save cruise lines "big bucks because they won't have to divert from their itinerary to (pull into) a port or use an airlift," to care for a sick passenger or crew member, Orazi said. "If there's an emergency, the ship can immediately consult our emergency room ý and if it's a condition that requires the consultation of specialists, we can set up a live video teleconference," he added.
Cleveland Clinic views telemedicine "as an incredible market and opportunity to provide medical services remotely," Orazi said. He plans to pursue links with other cruise lines as well as the offshore oil industry and large passenger ferries.
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