good idea. this seems to be cool dude.
are u an engineer? your thoughts seems to like the same.

Thanks and Regards,
Viniyo

No I am not a engineer I am just someone who see problems and trys to fix them

Good idea. You could pitch this to the company that provides those TV/Radio/Internet/Phone console things to hospitals at such extortionate rates.

not a bad idea

I freakin' love this idea - you are the man!

thanks

I like the idea but you may have resistance from hospitals re privacy concerns. I could see their lawyers having some issues with this.

hey fish99 can you expand on that privacy concerns issues? I don't know what you mean.

First off. I like the idea and I would use it if I needed to use the service.

But I do have to be honest with the health care system. I have done consulting with hospitals in regards to maintenance systems.

1. Not everyone who comes into a hospital comes out. I think there would be concerns with hospital legal staff having outside people watch someone die over the internet.

2. You are dealing with doctors and nurses who may have concern with malpractice suits if everything they do could be monitored by non medical staff remotely. From a privacy viewpoint, doctors and nurses have rights not to be on camera.

Give me a laptop, a webcam and a wifi or lan connection....

This idea doesn't do anything...
You don't need a specialized system to do this...

]V[oogy

I'm currenty, working on a tele-presence project that could handle this.
Let me tell you that you cannot count on the hospital to provide a DSL or cable-modem line to every room or even every patient. Wifi is a possibility, but someone has to pay for it. GPRS over cellphone will only give you 14-40 kilobits, unreliably and at very high cost. Also, note that you are not allowed to have any transmitters in a hospital - no cells, rf modems etc, so even Wifi would be an issue. The privacy issues have been covered above - not only for doctors and nurses, but for other patients as well, in shared rooms. So, yeah, nice idea but the details are the killer. Maybe it's time to study some engineering?

This is a really smart idea, nice one.

THeGuru have some points to consider, how about an Aircard? (It picks both GPRS or 3G signal)

Over and and above, this is a cool idea but mostly for upscale Hospital and can only be limited to the Suite and private room for a start.
I just remeber something though, some years back, a PET day care center have this kind of thing to check their pets in the Daycare center while at work. So your IDEA actually quite give me a nice thought that finally someone is considering to check their own family at sick bay.

GL, honestly this will be a remarkable business as add on application on the security cam for most of the HOSPITAL have to install.

Wishing you well.

I like the idea, but do se some issues with getting the connection and equipment into hospitals, in the UK there is a bit of a backlash against a sercive that provides tv and phones at the bed. Mainly due to the massive phone charges ($'s per minute to call in or out and about a $3 a day charge to have the tv service.)

Suppying any hardware at all woudl also mean it needs to be designed fo rcleaning to aid infection control - not normally a concern for consumer electroincs but a solvable problem.

@ TheGuru
You say:

"Wifi is a possibility, but someone has to pay for it."
Yep but its often cheaper and faster to deploy than copper, and bandwidth always has to be paid for somehow.

"GPRS over cellphone will only give you 14-40 kilobits, unreliably and at very high cost."
So what's wrong with 3g with HSDPA? Yes its site dependant but its fast enough. Neither would be great for VoIP though so I think WiFi / LAN would offer more options.

" Also, note that you are not allowed to have any transmitters in a hospital - no cells, rf modems etc, so even Wifi would be an issue. "

The Medical devices agency in the UK issued guidance allowing mobile phones several years ago, its been ignored by hospitals who still trot out the safety line.This is the policy usually enforced. I believe mainly to stop the disturbance of ringing cell phones, as the issue of safety critical RFI has largely been designed out of moderne medical and consumer equipment.

Afterall a lot of hospitals still use radio pagers and have cell phone base stations on site as a revenue stream.

In my experience, here in the Philippines, transmitters are not banned. My father was hospitalized several weeks ago with intensive care. In my turn to watch him, I had my laptop with me and the GPRS aircard Saigon is referring to and was able to work on ideas submitted here at CH. In high-end hospitals catering to rich people, I think a wifi-hot spot would soon be offered as a value added service if not already there.

A friend of mine who developed the My Electronic Medical Record, an online Hospital Information System, that allows medical and patient records sharing among doctors from multiple locations successfully deployed the system in one of the big hospitals and several clinics in Manila. The hospital was required to subscribed a DSL line to use the system.

G-L and I think its just a matter of time that broadband connectivity will be common and ordinary just like cell phones. Even our government is embarking on a 15 billion pesos broadband connectivity backbone for rural areas. So i think this idea is ripe and positioning in front of a trend.

Privacy concerns are a real issue.

In the UK at least this is why mobile phones are still banned in most hospitals. Research now proves that mobiles don't disrupt equipment however the ban is still in place because mobiles have cameras and peoples privacy could be violated.

You should look at "Patientline" articles, they're a company that operate bedside phone, internet and tv terminals. They have come into a lot of critisism lately due to excessive charges... as they're heavily in debt.

If you can get connection in hospital... my experience has been no ethernet, and no cellphones allowed (i'd assume no WiFi then too).

Nice idea. Make it so!

wireless in the hospital? will they let you do that? you have to turn your cell phone off just to sit in the waiting room. Perhaps that's the problem that needs to be solved first.

They ban mobile phones and other devices that interfere with radio waves because it can interfere with the medical equipment. My friend is a head engineer at Medtronic and says that it can interfere with some of the equipment. But, it is quite rare that it ever happens because they have shielding on the medical electronics. So, it is more precautionary then anything.

I know that some major hospitals do have web cams and things like that for patent use.

I understand the Wireless comment, but I don't think this has to be wireless at all. Cables can link everything, you just have to plan it right to limit the amount of cables to save time installing them.

This could also be a free thing to hospitals, meaning they have no charge for putting it in. Our company would collected money from credit card that people would have to use to use the equipment... similar to using a TV in a hospital.

So in conclusion, Wireless for the hand held computer would be better and cables connecting everything else. BUT if that dose not work then cables can conect everything

I like the idea a lot. Think also of people which are in quarantine, who are not allowed to see anybody.
Loads of potential.
Tommy

kwel one

This is the kind of idea I want to submit someday! =]
I would go with lines as opposed to wireless, due to reasons previously stated. Excellent! Keep up the good work.

i like it

Same here... i wish this can be available even in Goverment run hospital.

I love it!

rawkin... i guess the other obstacle can be iron out in time specifically which best "application and tools" to use..but generally the IDEA is brilliant and sweet!

I like it too.

Awesome with capital "A"!

In my country specially in the major cities, our elders are usually left in the province we feel guilty not be able to visit them except thru the hight cost of mobile calls.. .your idea will bridge the GAP of the care seeking family or friends who are sick And the sick specially during recovery can get there deserve well wishers and last minute preparation when some important visitors are coming . Not all hospital are telecom sensitive except perhaps youre in ICU and in an airplane. Just the same, hope at the end of the day you find the right flatform and technical requirements whatever for your great idea.

Like the idea. The Canadian government is about to hold an auction for 3G wireless spectrum (384kbps mobile transmission), so in a few years hospitals may not have a choice in allowing Internet connectivity into their rooms.

I think if you could get around all the issues with the technology not interfering with the medical equipment then it would fly. I believe Kevin_Cox said it right. Its more of a precautionary measure then anything. Its the same for the airline industry. I am wondering if any studies have been done with WiFi and or wireless internet and this type of equipment. You would definitely want to look into that. I think its crazy they don't already have internet in more upscale hospitals for patients and visitors who aren't there for life threatening illnesses.

Is this a marketing problem (getting hospitals to install whatever it takes to make the technology work at their particular site), or a technical problem (getting the webcams, screens, networks, etc.)?

I "think" the technical solutions exist, so to me this appears to be a question of packaging a solution and providing it to people who can and will pay for it.

The next steps would appear to be figuring out where the best markets are and how to get into them.

Is that right?

I like the idea. Maybe isolate it to a particular room/suite instead of being in the ward...to get around some of the privacy stuff....kinda like virtual visiting hours

Virtual visiting hours I like it... Thanks

I recently was at a hospital in Tampa while my son was being operated on. There was a big sign in the waiting room stating that the entire hospital was covered by wi-fi and gave the simple procedures for logging onto the Internet through their system. I believe this service was totally separate from the system the doctors use, but was offered as a service to the patients and their friends.

This would essentially solve many of your problems. All you would have to supply people with would be some sort of laptop (with camera?) and access to a blog service where they could post information about their status and friends and family could post encouragement.

Last year a friend's daughter had surgery their and they were able to post photos and updates on a special hospital blog. People who wanted access to the blog had to request entrance and the parents had total control over who got to see.

True, TGH is way ahead of most hospitals in this respect, but this is proof that their are similar ideas out their that are working well.

Heartwarning...

But you were feted in a great IDEA that i believe is of more impotance at the moment.

I just have to split my votes.

I like it!

I just love this idea. My mother is suffering from Pancreatic Cancer right now and I am having to deal with ALL of the phone calls, e-mails, my two young kids, and both of our bills- PLUS take care of her.. It would be great if people in the family could just check on her themselves and give me a break!!

@ Pantherswin

That is the idea, how many times do you repeat the same story? its taxing, you are drained and it takes away from your time with family.

I believe pharmaceutical companies can work hand in hand for patient's welfare... you can try lobbying them to support this.

Pantherswin, Fibonacci, and everyone else who has been dealing with this situation, thank you for putting a human face to the problem.

GL in addition to virtual visiting perhaps this system could let relatives hear what the doctors and nurses say on their daily rounds. It's so frustrating to find out you missed the doc by 5 minutes, esp when the patient is not really understanding what's being said.

Obviously there is a need for some kind of solution. The operating environments seem to vary widely from zero electronics allowed to fully wireless. So it seems like there would be a lot of starting places for getting this idea rolling.

All good.

I work in the pharmeceutical company, part of our marketing aptitude is too look for opportunities we would work a long term relationship with the Hospital be it Private and or Govt owned.

I believe on the potential of this idea specially if it would be created as a simple application that would not much alter the existing system and physical design of the hospital room structure( which means not expensive too on the bill and us sponbsor as well). I mean, if this would be just a sort of "add-on" to install on a computerized system from the information booth and data based on patient's account this would be cool. What i can imagine at the moment as GOds_light is proposing is for a would be visitor to log on to the hospital website(not a separate one) and check my friend's name and view him in real time. The patient on the other hand would be notified of the viewing or attempt the way ordinary yahoo or MSN messenger does. The virtual visit seems another idea, but the simplicity of this IDEA is very doable even at existing technology at the moment. So at my own simple understanding i believe this IDEA can just a software program to customized existing website for a hospital and an additional choice of room specs for thepatient to choose as service.

I give you my first 4 points!

I like the idea, I believe the technolgy is there to do this.

Some UK market data for you here :

http://www.theregist...ine_shares_collapse/

may show how tough the market here would be here. The history of Patientline will be a good read for you. Perhaps the potential is to rais the funds to buy them / buy space on thier network to deliver this service? It would add significantly to the capabilities, especially if it were ad supported / paid by the relatives i.e. calling party pays, so there is no cost to the patient.

I urge you to look at articles on the UK company "Patientline". They offer hardware terminals on wheels that offer phone/web/tv at bedside.

They're in severe debt as the hardware is expensive and the returns are small. High prices to cover costs mean limited usage, they're also heavily critised for charging people too much while they're stuck in a hospital.

Well I think the service you can offer is installing web connections in hospitals and leasing equipment to patients, rather than any specific software. Ubuntu on a crappy laptop with built in webcam would do the trick, but its all about convincing hospitals to let you install that ethernet jack by the bed. I think you're up against steep competition in that companies who roll out internet into hotels could easily extend into hospitals. Also... there's the possibility someone will treat a notebook like a laptop... any fry their privates...
http://www.theregist...s_penis_with_laptop/
...when I'm in a hospital next i certainly hope they offer internet access so I don't go crazy.

I think the only problem you really have to deal with is getting that first hospital to let you run a pilot project. And then you'll find out if they've been approached by existing roll-out-net-into-hotel companies and why they might have said no.

just asking...would it be "nice" if i let my family view me while on the delivery room instead of just my husband by my side via this Hospital connection?

Admit it, you guys forget about this nice feature huh?!

@ JGarcia, This system would not be in place in a delivery room. As the patient will not have time to chat with family or friends there. It also dose not make financial scene to have it in a room where you spend a hour or two vs a room where you spend a day or two.

First off all I have been reading over the comments and would like to correct some peoples thoughts. The reason I can do this is becasue I have worked in two of the hospitals in my city.

Now the first one is that the hospitals would have no problem with getting internet in them since most of them already have wireless internet. They use the wireless for the pharamasist and anyone with a computer can get on.

THe next thing is the whole transmitter thing. THey are getting ride of that in most places because it is already proven it does not effect the equipment. The reason why they don't want people knowing this is because:
1 they do not want people using their phones as camera- big security issue.
2 they don't want the noise to inturrupt the other patients.
3 they do not want the cell phones to be in the way of their treatment plan, because when they are in the hospital they are virtually seen by ever type of medical staff.

THe next is the way that this can be funded is since they already have wireless that fee is already covered. THe next is getting the equipment in the. Yes it would be expensive but they can do the same thing as what they do with the t.v and phone charge the patients.

The hospital can make that they can only use this from certain times, so that it does not get in the way of any type of treatment.

THis program would be very benifical to the patients in the hospital since I have seen a lot of people depressed in the hospital because no one comes to visit them.

THis would also help them because a lot are depressed because they ahve nothing to in the hospitals.

This idea does have ways to work.

My mopther an dI were in Dallas and that hospital is HUGE, the whole thing had WiFi already. I agree they could just charge the patient, they are horrible about it already. Atleast this would be something that would BENEFIT the pt. and their family. It would be fairly simple to avoid bothering other pt.s- headphones. The only time you would not want or need them would be when the Dr is in there anyway. Other wise the roomy, or someone in the hall can hear everything that is being said. In some cases it could be end of life things. My Grandfather died just over 2 years ago, my mother was 300 miles away and he was in the ICU. He went from healing and concious to almost totally unconcious and then dead in less than 15 hours. I had to sneak my cell phone into the room so that my Mom could say good bye to him for the last time. This product would have made a dismal experience a decent good bye for my mother!

Brenden,
I reviewed the plan again and I do like it.
What I'm worried about is this. If people can have internet access they can have Skype aswel.
How different will you be from them, as I see them as your main competitor.
Greetz,
Tommy

Vanhees, the difference is this is a system that is linked though the hospitals main website, its controlled by the caregivers. You can leave data up on the message board / dashboard so people can read it and send you cards while you are sleeping... Skype in nice so is MSN, but caregivers don't have a way to turn it off... also you are taking into account that we are the tech generation... many older people don't have MSN or Skype... so teaching them how to use that system is not going to be easy in a hospital...

each cam will need it own temp ip with firewall from the main hospital system. The system needs to be trasparant to the user, who is probably old. Might be best to start if off with the new baby ward. In some places moms actually stay in a hospital for one or two days before going home. good market to all those eager relatives. good marketing time to.. could like to snding gifts online. make it link through fdt or amazon.
nice idea.
good luck

Phaze Thanks for the comment, I never thought of the New Baby area. But people always want to see new children...

Thanks

phaze's idea about the baby ward is a good one. Everyone wants to see the new baby asap, but hospitals are getting tighter and tighter about who has access to this ward. I think they'd jump at remote access opportunities that let them keep visitors out.

There's a lot that happens in a hospital room that shouldn't be available, so I'd put a bit red "on air" light on it so everyone knows when it's transmitting. You might also put a physical hood over the camera as an added privacy guard.

Just FWIW, when I start thinking about little usability issues like whether or not it should have an on-air light, I'm already sold on the idea. You seem to have the big issues ironed already.

Micco, My last version of this idea had the Red Light on the webcam... just to remind you that it was on, but I though that was a little to much info... digging to deep into the system for most people... so I took it out to fit in the support thing.

Good Idea GL! Obviously from the posts there are issues to overcome- but it seems to me timing on this is everything. No reason not to pursue a pilot project if you can find a hospital to work with and see if you can make it fly. It would not take too much hardware investment to see if it has cash flow possibilities and can overcome the key obstacles.

Here's to success!

GL,
i guess JGarcia means..it owuld be nice to be online via WEBcam if one is on the delivery room...the hospital connection doesnt limit to chat alone right?

I still love it!

Saigon: thanks for your comments... as for webcams in the delivery room, I would have no control over that... where they are installed is up to the hospital. That being said I would not recommend it being installed in a delivery room, most women don't want their private parts streamed live over the internet. But having them in the post delivery room would make scene to me.

No Hospital Connections would not be limited to just a chat, there would be a live webcam, photo book, message board, prezzle partnership (get well) link to webMD, and a dashboard that ties them all in.

Thanks

Brenden

I think it's an interesting idea, however it is one I have seen in practice to some extents in the photo/internet/web camera booths that some hospitals already have.
There is such little money for health care and hospitals as it is, that I don't see this being something that would be possible to implement for some time.

G_L, from all the comments it looks like there is a lot of interest and support for a product of this type.

There are many different operating environments, not just technologically, but institutionally and socially.

I may have said this before, but if you could start to shape this for your own local conditions it would bring the immediate issues forward in a clear and specific way. That would enable you to develop your business model, which you could then adapt for other contexts.

I asked early on whether this was a technical problem or a marketing problem, primarily. I'm getting the impression that the technology exists, so I would classify it as more of a marketing problem.

By that I do not mean "sales and advertising". I mean designing a product offering that fits a need, and then carrying that through to sales.

I really think the technology is a secondary consideration here - first figure out what the local hospitals in your area would even think of using, what their constraints are, what their needs are, and go from there.

And as darlinglilred said, there is a cash crunch in the Canadian public health system. However there are environments such as nursing homes and supported living arrangements where the financial situation might be better.

StephanieVF made a good point about people becoming depressed in hospital. There may be a therapeutic benefit to your system. If so, if you can show a measurable reduction in the cost of health care b/c of reducing depression, then you have an economic argument in favour of using the system.

pantherswin's comment about the cell phone in the ICU makes me think that hospital chaplains might be good people to talk to about this as well. They would have a front-line perspective on what patients need in the communication area.

Soldier on ;-)

Very good idea

Just a thought, perhaps just use skype or msn chat with hospital's internet connection?

darlinglilred:
I see this as not a cost to the hospitals but a cost to the patient. Like when you use a TV or Phone now, you have to pay for it (or at least thats what its like where I live).
I would even go so far as to suggest that this service would not cost a hospital anything and would in fact be something that Hospital Connections would pay for (the setup) and would make back the money by the service charges.

If you know of a similar system to this I would love to hear about it... Please if you have a few min can you search for it an post it here or PM me?

Brenden

I am again 100% in agreement with you on this project and I would just LOVE to see it happen.. KEEP working on it and don't give up. It is a truly brilliant and wonderful idea!

Jill: as always great points!

I think the only way to solve the marketing and sales problem is to give it away free... NO CHARGE to a test hospital or nursing home! Prove that it works and has a miserable benefit to patients and to the staff.

I 100% agree that I need to do more market research right in the health care system. Both in the Canadian system (local for me) and the American (huge market).

In your opinion where is the best place to start? who to talk to?

pantherswin: thanks for the encouragement!

V2.0 of your idea is looking pretty solid. Regarding privacy concerns, it appears that you -just- need permission from the hospital and the patient. That wouldn't be a problem if the system is endorsed by the hospital. I think this would go a long way to making improving the hospital experience.

PS - I think you meant "measurable benefit" re: post above.

G_L - A recent article describing exactly what you want to do: http://www.healthlea...ewcontent/90664.html

Again, permission from medical staff is key. The way to pitch this to hospitals is that they put the control of video conferencing in their hands. Also a good source of income for hospitals. There's contact info there that might help you muddle through this.

ChrisJ thanks for the solid posts! I agree with the privacy issues, but I hope to bring on someone that has some background in that, thanks for the article.

"They are getting ride of that in most places because it is already proven it does not effect the equipment."
Actually, my engineering friend that makes the equipment says that there has for a fact been some rare problems with RF interference. They even had to custom make some equipment for certain hospitals with extra shielding. With a lot of medical equipment it can be life threatening if they are interfered.

So, it does happen but it is usually very rare and only in isolated incidents. With modern shielding it is extremely rare.

I like your idea.

Kevin_cox: I am not a expert, I am leaving it open to be wireless or wired... depending on what works best for that hospital.

Was not trying to argue against the idea or anything, I think it ha a chance to work. I just wanted to explain why they have that rule in most hospitals.

assuming you can solve the privacy and connectivity issues it seems like a good thing. Nobody can argue against the value of connecting a patient with his/her loved ones. This is a _very_ large project though that would involve more than a trivial capital investment to make it work. consider the tangled web of people you must convince:

Your customer is the hospital- this doesn't fly without their buy-in. what is their motivation to buy this device (because they're not going to simply offer this out of the goodness of their hearts - it has to make business sense to them). is it an added service they can sell to patients? You'll need a dedicated salesforce and the sales cycle with hospitals is extended. The service will most likely be subject to HIPAA compliance which requires a significant amount of engineering work to ensure. Be cognizant of the landscap of insurance companies, HMO's, etc - are they going to cover the cost of this service to the patient- not likely. Are you just selling the device or the end-to-end service? Who maintains and supports the devices?

not trying to naysay, but having worked briefly on a project that involved getting hospitals to adopt a new type of asthma treatment technology, I want to make sure you are aware of the colossal inertia involved in the healthcare industry. It's a beautiful vision but I think you may be underestimating what's involved to make it reality.

sean

I was wondering something. Who is going to sets up the system in the rooms? Because medical workers usually have more important things to do.

So, how does the product get to the patent?

Good idea in theory but the devil is indeed in the details. I like to help so here is my contribution:
1) the product should be for the relatives of the patients, they buy it, the patient carries it, the hospital has nothing to do with it
2) stay as far as you can from hospital, medical personnel and doctors. One more reason on top of what eveyone else already mentioned: FDA
3) how much would it cost to manufacture this device? My educaded guess is that you need the cheaper UMC you can find with a decent web cam.
4) solve the problem of the wireless access. One solution? do not think hospital only or necessarely. Think elderly home alone or at elderly care facility where many restrictions may not apply
5) how do you make money. At the very least you need to break even so you can stay in business and continue to make people life better. One option? lease the device and include customer service. Does it scale? Maybe.
Hope this helps.

I think this is a great service for hospitals. I'm confused how you would make money since the equipment and technology is readily available. Plus it's easily imitatable, what would stop a hospital or another company from just starting up their own service? I vaguely recall hearing of something similar being set up in the Vancouver (Canada) Children's Hospital a while back. So it's definitely something institutions are already thinking of and possibly planning on their own.

The basic ides is a good one. I think the patient should have the option of not being seen. People may not want to display themselves when they are very sick and are undergoing disfiguring treatments. But at the same time they would love seeing people, especially children who aren't allowed to visit them.
Also, I think giving out too much medical information is not a good idea. I have listened to doctors as they tell patients what their condition is and what their options are. The patients often focus on what they want to hear and do not always understand what the doctor is telling them. Making this information available to equally uninformed family members could result in unrealistic optimism or pessimism for the whole family.

This is a wonderful idea! The patient will not feel like they are cut off from their friends and family. I have many friends and family that are either out of state or are not mobile. Some of my friends do not drive, others are homebound due to chronic illness.

Hospitals are terrible places to visit if you have a weak immune system. This system will allow visiting with the only bug to worry about is a computer bug!

Having visiting hours is excellent. I wouldn't want a camera on me all the time even if I wasn't sick!

GL the thing I was referring to is called First Memories. They are Kiosks set in maternity wards to allow parents to send videos and pictures of their new babies through email as well as instantly creating an online account/webpage for the family. There is an article about it here, (http://www.firstmemo...tory_ottawa_sun.cfm) although it does not mention the video and IM which I know are possible since that's how I recently recieved video of my new nephew.
It's a very popular feature.
Also when I mentioned the cash crunch in hospitals I was taking into consideration both the patient side and the hospital side. Especially in the US people have trouble paying for extended hospital stays and I wonder the feasibility of asking them to pay yet more money. The way I see it the people who would most benefit could not afford it and the ones who could are less likely to be staying long term.

Glad to see that virtual visiting hours made it in ;-)

Good luck, looks like you will take this round.

cheers
Gary

Congrets for winning
Cheers
Tommy

thanks Tommy

Questions:

Who pays for the initial capex on the equipment? and consequently who is responsible if it gets damaged?

I ask only because in some areas (ie Canada), capex for non-core activities is going to be very hard to justify. In addition, it may be difficult to find hospitals who would willingly install third party equipment w/o a waiver of liability if it got damaged.

In many medium size hospital setting CAPEX would not be touch for something that any organization or group would wanted to sponsor. The third party would bite on this provided its a quid pro quo for their interest... in my private practice, i would take the offer in exchange of limited product supply in a given period of time. Usually no contract needed but just a gentleman's agreement. Since it would take sometime to get the board's approval i prefer to make a judgement call (if i can decide) that would give credence to greater good.
Btw, IT/diagnostic staff in the hospital dept should work on the monitoring of this system they have a plenty of time next to the security department ;-)

I look forward to hearing your comments.

I don't think hospitals will pay for the infrastructure or for the staff to monitor it. My suggestion is if the hospital has internet access, keep them completely out of the loop for its implementation to avoid a bureaucratic nightmare in approval. Market this directly to patients and engage the hospitals only as a means to advertise. Offer them a share in revenue or something to that nature.

I see a need for a service like this, however I think you'd need to be careful about reinventing the wheel. Use combinations of existing technical solutions such as wordpress plugins like this https://extras.skype.com/846/view' target='_blank'>https://extras.skype.com/846/view or facebook/skype plugins like this https://extras.skype.com/846/view' target='_blank'>https://extras.skype.com/846/view

All that said, marketing will be by far your biggest challenge and should be your main focus. Keep it simple and god speed Gods_Light!

Thanks Chuck.

I agree, at first it will almost be impossible to get hospitals to use this service thats why the first few year the units will have to be given out for free to prove the concept. After the product is proven effective then there would be two choices.
1) Pay per use directly to the hospital or to Hospital Connections
2) Included with your room (hospital buys the system)

this is a good idea.. and maybe if you did try focusing on the "Virtual Visiting Hours" aspect it may help garner more serious attention from hospitals. I know that there are rooms that could be set up for an idea like this, where patients who sign releases (privacy issues and all) could go and view messages for them, and "visit" with friends/family.

Perhaps the video/chat could be available as an extra service for the patient?

I think the best way to approach this idea is to try and get it grant funded. I think if the grant is written correctly that the government would cough up some funds to create something like this. Especially if you could tie it in with some professors research. Then, it becomes an academic endeavor into the effect of such a system on the care given and the emotional state of the family using the system compared to a hospital without the system.

Otherwise, I don't see Hospitals willing to spend money on this. At least not the amount you'd need to build it properly. I should know the hurdles of healthcare applications. I work with them all day at work.

Selise the Virtual Visiting Hours was something suggested right here as a comment. I then have used that idea and combined it with Hospital Connections.
I know that will be a good selling feature.
As for the chat that is build right into the system. Its hard to connect if you can not see or hear from the people that love you.

Thanks

Techguy, thats a idea I had not considered. I am sure that we would be able to find some grants and some PHD students that are willing to study the benefits of this system and the health of the patient.

I do think that this system will have to be "given away" like many products when they first are tested. So as to prove that it works and helps both patients and staff.

Thanks

GL- my two biggest questions at this point are these and I've submitted them as videos per Gordon's request:

1 - Does this idea of video conferencing in the hospital room provide a significantly better experience to justify all the energy that will be required to implement this idea? Is the average person with a camera phone truly underserved right now and can we expect the common user who is not computer-savvy to adopt video conferencing in the setting of the hospital?

2 - Is this idea appropriate for a CambrianHouse crowdsourced scenario and do you realize the scope of what will be involved in successfully implementing it? It seems more appropriate as a traditional venture backed by VC and will require a significant monetary and human capital investment to get the necessary sales and support infrastructure in place to make it work. Do you think it's realistic that this can be executed within the context of CambrianHouse?

thanks!

sean

TOC VIDEO QUESTION Q3: I wonder how you will get past hospital concerns about wireless cell phones interfering with equipment plus getting hospital permission?

TOC question 1 from scrollinondubs:
Does this idea of video conferencing in the hospital room provide a significantly better experience to justify all the energy that will be required to implement this idea? Is the average person with a camera phone truly undeserved right now and can we expect the common user who is not computer-savvy to adopt video conferencing in the setting of the hospital?

The benefit of Hospital Connections is the privacy, features and ease of use.

Privacy: Hospital Connections allows both the caregivers and the patient to control the level of privacy. People will only be able to access the patients page if they are ok by the patient (similar to windows cancel or allow feature). The caregivers can turn off the webcam from a control at the desk, so that the patient’s privacy is protected.
With a cell phone or a computer privacy is not insured for you, the caregivers and the other patients (you see it all the time, something is filmed and taken out of context and then put on youtube).

Features: Hospital Connections will have the following features
:axe: Web cam
:axe: Dashboard
:axe: Privacy features
:axe: Chat
:axe: Message board
:axe: Get well card (prezzle?)
:axe: Link to Web MD (explain what you are suffering from)
:axe: Doctor and Nurses can turn it off remotely
:axe: Virtual visiting hours
:axe: Long in thought the hospitals website
:axe: Hospital not connected with payment credit card directly to Hospital Connections
:axe: You could have doctors visit with a patient from across the world

Ease of use: all of these things features and benefits are combine into one comprehensive system. The system is user friendly and will be developed with a short learning curve in mind.

If you were to use different system (camera phones, computers) it would be much more complicated then what Hospital Connections offers.

I hope that answers your question.

Brenden (Gods_Light)

TOC question 2 from scrollinondubs:
Is this idea appropriate for a CambrianHouse crowdsourced scenario and do you realize the scope of what will be involved in successfully implementing it? It seems more appropriate as a traditional venture backed by VC and will require a significant monetary and human capital investment to get the necessary sales and support infrastructure in place to make it work. Do you think it's realistic that this can be executed within the context of CambrianHouse?

I agree this is a large undertaking, I also believe that Cambrian House (CH) lends it self well to partnerships with companies. You do not need to crowdsource 100% of a company to make it work.
With Hospital Connections I would most likely crowdsource the platform design marketing, promotion, business development and vision of the company.
Things I would do myself (with input from the crowd) would be, development of the hardware system, sales, management, business plan and R&D.

I hope that answers your question.

Brenden (Gods_Light)

TOC VIDEO QUESTION Q3 from gregbd:
I wonder how you will get past hospital concerns about wireless cell phones interfering with equipment plus getting hospital permission?

Originally Hospital Connections was a completely wired system. As the idea grew and I talked to people in the industry and researched more about wireless technology's in hospitals I found that almost all equipment in hospitals are protected from any interference from cell phones or other electronics. Some hospitals are already using wireless internet for caregivers.
There is still the option of using a wired system if a hospital is not conferrable with the technology.

As for hospital permission that will come after a few pilot projects have been successful. It may be hard to convince the first set of hospitals but once we are able to show the benefit of Hospital Connections I assume it will be an easier sell.

I hope that answers your question.

Brenden (Gods_Light)

It seems like there is more talk about your idea then AdSqueeze.

TOC question 1 from scrollinondubs: http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=T2M3eSZ_0Ss
TOC question 2 from scrollinondubs: http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=nnUBNbol-Lo
TOC VIDEO QUESTION Q3 from gregbd: http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=__RxblKBAvM

Thanks

Congratulations on the last round! I wish you the best on this venture! It is a pleasure to be in competition with you.

I really like this idea as well. I work in the eHealth industry for a university based research group. Not sure if you are aware of http://www.caringbridge.org but they do some of what you are talking about. I think they have been fairly successful at what they do. Maybe you could take it a step further.

Thank you for sending me that link!

That is very similar to what I looking to create. It is a starting point but not the core of my idea. The most important part is it Proves that there is a market for this business.

I can not wait to review it in detail.

What is the state of this project?

Great idea! I was thinking about this a few weeks ago while I was studying for exams in the ICU waiting room. There was an elderly lady sitting next to me who was talking about how she wished there was a way she could see how her husband was doing and know his status from the medical team without having to disturb him with her presence everytime she came to visit. I think you have a winner here. I'd like to talk sometime maybe because I've got an idea that might have some relevance to your own. Take care!

how is the project?

Interesting conversation dont want to forget the comments:

I think to keep the echo boomer engaged, post surgery would be great. The money maker will be to put preventative/disease education on the monitors. Pharma would pay for it through the advertising... and syncing them with a server would allow you to track and update content. (like a tivo)