AN INTERVIEW WITH
LIZ HOPKINS AND PATTY LUCENT
The following interview took place in February, 2000.
Assistant Editor & Roving Reporter
TelehealthNet News Bob
Pyke, Jr. RN, CPNP
1. First a short bio from Elizabeth and Patty:
Liz Hopkins: Graduated from University of Maryland School of Nursing,
1979, Masters of Health Administration in 1992. Vice-President for Patient
Services of The Children's Hospital and Center for Reconstructive Surgery
from 1983-1997, Director of Patient and Visitor Services at Johns Hopkins
Hospital from 1997 to 1998, Project Administrator and Coordinator for
WorldCare telemedicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1998 -1999, Director
of GlobalAccess for Johns Hopkins International starting January 2, 2000.
I have given nursing seminars in Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China,
and traveled extensively throughout Europe, and Asia.
Patty Lucent: Graduated from University of South Carolina 1983, BS in
Business Administration. Sales Director for IBIS Corporation in Herndon,
VA (Imaging Department) 1987-1990. Director DoD Sales for ICE Communications
in Reston, VA (Imaging, Video, Messaging and Telephony) 1990-1998. Worked
on the TeleRobotic Surgical product used by Johns Hopkins Department of
Urology for telementoring in Singapore, Thailand and Italy. Product has
been inducted into the Smithsonian Archives for Medicine. Director of
International Business Development for Lucent Technologies Government
Solutions (1998 to Present).
2. Elizabeth, Tell me a little about Telemedicine at Johns Hopkins
about and what are you doing now with this program and how is the
service being used so far? e-mail consultations, real time
consultations, continuing ed, lectures etc?
Liz Hopkins: All of the above. Johns Hopkins is committed to raising
the standard of health care throughout the world. Its mission includes
education, research and patient care. Continuing Medical Education (CME)
is currently carried out on the Internet through our Department of Continuing
Education including Grand Rounds, courses, etc. Patient consultations
are provided by physicians through WorldCare, and by individual request.
These can be by e-mail,video-conferencing, or Open-Med Viewer (a WorldCare
product). See Johns Hopkins Website, Inteli-health, etc.
3. Patty, How did Lucent Technologies become part of this? When I
think Lucent , I think Technology, but didn't think of
Telemedicine?
Patty Lucent: Lucent Technologies began a dialogue with Johns Hopkins
International in early March 1999, exploring how we could jointly address
opportunities in the health and human services field. The agreement draws
on our respective strengths. So Hopkins -a leader in the health care field
and a name you readily associate with telemedicine -will develop offerings
in the areas of consulting, patient services, education and training.
Lucent in turn will bring to the market what it does best -designing a
secure, high-speed network to support and deliver health care applications
around the globe.
4. Patty, What is Lucent doing in the area of Telemedicine these
days?
Patty Lucent: We provide a variety of high-speed communications, data
networking and video conferencing equipment required to support telemedicine
applications. One example is our VIA188 Interactive Videoconferencing
System. It allows health care professionals to confer with patients and
experts at remote locations using the broadband MPEG-2 standard -- providing
clear, crisp and stable images that support patient diagnoses and consultation.
And with the system's data function, medical professionals can send vital
statistics, patient histories and other critical information rapidly.
5. Patty, Tell me a little about the system and equipment Lucent
is using in this arrangement?
Patty Lucent: The initial focus is to allow patients from around the
globe to access the medical expertise at Johns Hopkins. With this in mind,
Lucent is developing a Physician Referral System that's based around Lucent's
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions, which includes call
center technology and work flow management. For example, once patient
information is assembled at a remote site, it will need to be routed and
managed in Baltimore. Our CRM Solutions are all about helping organizations
like Johns Hopkins manage information in a way that lets them provide
consistently high-quality service. It requires the kind of networking
and information routing expertise that Lucent has worked hard to acquire.
6. Elizabeth and Patty, So has it been so far? What is working and
what sort of problems have you found?
Liz Hopkins: The partnership and product development phase have been
positive and mutually rewarding.
Patty Lucent: The relationship has been enormously beneficial to both
parties.
7. Elizabeth and Patty, what has been the response so far?
Liz Hopkins: There has been global interest from a variety of sectors, including
media, hospitals, clinics, governments, payers, and other programs.
Patty Lucent: Same as above
8. Elizabeth and Patty, Where do you see the program in the next
18 months?
Liz Hopkins: Expansion of the product, increased opportunities for CME,
increased interest from sectors listed above. Johns Hopkins will be recognized
as a leader in this field.
Patty Lucent: With the initial phase of product development/implementation
finalized, we plan to integrate feature rich options (video conferencing,
Computer Telephony Integration and multimedia calls) into the referral
system. Very specific medical applications (CME, video surgical techniques,
mentoring, etc.) will be introduced into the next build.
9. Elizabeth and Patty, How is the program being funded at this
time ?
Both respond: We've chosen not to disclose the financial terms
of our agreement.
10. Elizabeth and Patty, are you planning on expanding the program
here in the states and abroad?
Liz Hopkins: Planning to expand the program internationally at this
time.
Patty Lucent: To date, we are focusing our efforts internationally.
However, we are planning on expanding the program within the continuous
United States.
11. Elizabeth and Patty, This seems like a interesting arrangement
between Hopkins and Lucent? Do you see more of these type of
arrangements occurring more in Telemedicine?
Liz Hopkins: As our product rolls out, we expect more and more institutions
will be interested in our experience.
Patty Lucent: Definitely. We are beginning to see partnerships like
this in other areas of business as well.
12. Elizabeth and Patty, What would you say to people wanting to
under take a Telemedicine program like we talked about?
Liz Hopkins: Network with current providers.
Patty Lucent: To identify a true opportunity in telemedicine, we would
look to other health care providers that want to have a global reach.
To truly understand their goals and to fully understand their services,
architecting a telemedicine network shouldn't be all that difficult. We
fully expect this partnership to launch a new way of communicating with
remote physicians and patients that currently, cannot easily access the
Hopkins medical network of physicians.
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