AMMAN, Jordan, 29 July 2011: The Government of Jordan and Cisco today formally launched a unique regional health clinic that will use Cisco care-at-a distance technology to bring patients and physicians at the Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital (MGH), in the north-east of Jordan, together with specialists at Prince Hamzah Hospital(PHH), in Amman, for healthcare consultations.  This first implementation of Cisco's HealthPresence™ solution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region  demonstrates how technology can transform the delivery of healthcare in rural areas.

As part of the Jordan Healthcare Initiative (JHI), Cisco has strategically collaborated with the Government of Jordan to provide thought leadership in ICT-enabled healthcare solutions as well as to support the initial implementation of Cisco Care-at-a-Distance Solutions to help enable quality healthcare services for remote and underserved communities. The deployment of the Cisco HealthPresence solution to connect Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital to Prince Hamzah Hospital marks one of the first projects under the JHI strategy.

An event  to mark the unveiling of the solution was held at the Al-Mafraq hospital under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Abdellatif Woreikat, Jordan's Minister of Health. Also in attendance were senior officials from the Jordanian Government as well as senior representatives from Cisco.

Highlights / Key Facts:

• The Cisco HealthPresence solution combines high-definition video, advanced audio, and network-transmitted medical data to create an environment similar to what people experience when they visit their local doctor or health specialist. It can be configured to support multiple locations and to use network connectivity to match the appropriate expert with the health needs of the patient. Designed for use by a licensed healthcare professional, it can extend the reach of healthcare providers, increasing access to specialists and can be used to redirect unnecessary hospital visits to low cost clinics.
• Cisco HealthPresence allows patients to interact through technology with doctors who may be hundreds of kilometers away, within a clinical setting. It creates a dynamic environment for patient care, delivers a true-to-life experience between the patient and the provider, and helps improve lives by making it easier to access care.
• The Jordan Healthcare Initiative was originally envisioned by His Majesty King Abdullah II and Cisco's Chairman and CEO John Chambers when the two leaders agreed to explore opportunities for Cisco and the Jordanian government to collaborate on transforming Jordan's healthcare delivery system.
• In December 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Jordan and Cisco to formally establish the Jordan Healthcare Initiative.  The JHI focuses on strategic collaborations to help design and deploy 21st-century healthcare enabled by innovative information and communication technology.

Patient Feedback:

Ayed Sudee Elheemed Emsallam; Cardiology Patient

 "The clinic is so respectable, I greatly benefited from what the doctor on the screen said. I did follow his instructions with regard to my diet and the results were satisfactory."

Mohammad Jameel Hwaimel Al Khazaleh; Nephrology Patient

"My feeling was beyond what I can describe, the kidney doctor was very cooperative. I did benefit from his instructions and I hope that these services can be offered on a continuous basis.

Executive Quotes:

His Excellency Dr. Abdellatif Woreikat, Jordan's Minister of Health

"Healthcare initiatives are a key priority for Jordan's National Agenda, our aim being to improve the quality of life for Jordanians and guarantee social welfare. Our collaboration with Cisco is already yielding dividends. Patients and their physicians from Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital are being connected to specialists at Prince Hamzah Hospital in Amman without the need to travel, and a single specialist can now treat many more patients. Our learning's from this initial project will help us to determine how we leverage technology long-term to extend care to underserved, remote, and rural areas throughout Jordan."

His Excellency Dr. Khaled Lahham, Jordan's Secretary General, Ministry of Information, Communications Technology (ICT)

"Technology will be a key enabler for economic reform in Jordan and our aim is to  use it to both enhance operational efficiency of the Jordanian public healthcare system and improve the quality of the healthcare services we are providing to Jordanian citizens. We are very pleased to be working with Cisco to enable our healthcare professionals to collaborate more easily, regardless of location and to improve both the timeliness and the quality of care delivered."

Dr. Diafallah Muhammed Salameh Al-Hussban, director general, Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital, Jordan.

"The Cisco HealthPresence Clinic is already touching many lives.  We went live last month and have completed over 35 consultations to date.  Our care-at-a-distance clinic aims to provide healthcare services to the citizens of Al Mafraq province giving consultations, treatment and follow up care for patients of Cardiology, Nephrology and Dermatology. This service also assists in the exchange of medical information and knowledge transfer in a quick and efficient manner. We are committed to make this project a success, to improve it and to increase its utilization by our physicians to achieve its primary goal which is to increase the accessibility to advanced medical specialties for the remote areas in the country."

Dr. Ali Hyasat, director general, Prince Hamzah Hospital, Jordan

"Cisco's HealthPresence solution has already increased the level of collaboration between specialists from the Prince Hamzah Hospital and the Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital. The solution is also receiving impressive feedback from patients.  This is considered as the first stage and we look forward to linking other hospitals in the Kingdom.  In addition, the participating medical team is the nucleus of this pilot, hoping that it will expand on a larger scale in the very near future."

Laura Quintana, director of Corporate Affairs, Cisco

"Cisco is focused on working with government and industry to transform the delivery of healthcare through 21st-century technology.   Today, Cisco Care-at-a-Distance Solutions are transforming healthcare by providing a new access model that enables patients to easily connect with the best clinician for their specific condition, regardless of patient or clinician's location. To that end, Cisco Care- at- a-Distance Solutions are directly impacting lives by making quality healthcare accessible to remote, rural populations and underserved individuals and communities. The first-ever implementation of Cisco's HealthPresence solution in the Middle East and Africa region is a key milestone for Cisco  and clear demonstration of our commitment to work with governments, globally, to improve the lives of their citizens." 

Links / URLs:

• Emerging Markets RSS Feed: http://newsroom.cisco.com/data/syndication/rss2/EmergingMarkets.xml

• RSS Feed for Cisco:http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html
• For  details about Cisco Health Presence solutions, visit: http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/healthcare/cisco_healthpresence_solution.html

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The Cisco HealthPresence™ solution is intended for use by an attendant who is a licensed healthcare professional.