Telehealth vendor exhibition set

The state health agency will hold a telehealth vendor exhibition Wednesday in Baton Rouge.

The event, which is open to the public, will be from 8:30 a.m. until noon in the Bienville Building, 628 North Fourth St., Conference Room 118.

Telehealth refers to any telecommunications technology specifically applied to advance health care.

Examples include two physicians from opposite sides of the world consulting with each other on a case using enhanced teleconference capabilities, or increased Internet connectivity that allows medical images to be uploaded in real time for immediate examination.

More than a dozen telehealth vendors will have booths and displays at the exhibition, featuring their latest products and services. Vendors include national technology companies Cisco Systems, Inc., AT&T and Polycom, as well as Louisiana-based telehealth businesses such as Constant Care, L.L.C. and TeleMD 360.

The Department of Health and Hospitals’ Center for Health Care Innovation and Technology organized the exhibit in keeping with a resolution from the 2012 legislative session.

The resolution, sponsored by House Health and Welfare Committee Chairman state Rep. Scott Simon, R-Abita Spring, directed DHH to study how to advance telehealth technology in Louisiana.

While the exhibition is open to anyone who wishes to attend, the presentations will be especially relevant for health care providers, administrators and facilities operators, according to a DHH news release.