Cisco Telemedicine Pilot Program Demonstrates a New Way to

SAN JOSE, CA and ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND--(Marketwire - July 15, 2009) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced results from Cisco HealthPresence™ pilot programs in Aberdeen, Scotland and San Jose, Calif., which found that more than 90 percent of the patients were satisfied with the remote care experience and would recommend it to others. Cisco HealthPresence is a patient care delivery concept that combines Cisco TelePresence™ and medical devices to enable caregivers and patients who may be miles apart to interact in a clinical setting. The unveiling of the pilot results coincides with a joint press conference held by Cisco and UnitedHealth Group today in Washington, D.C. where the companies announced they will build the first, nationwide telehealth network delivering healthcare services to rural and underserved areas.

By using a live high-quality video collaboration solution, Cisco HealthPresence makes it more convenient for patients to meet with their doctors and improves the efficiency of delivering the service for the health care provider. Ultimately, it extends the natural reach of health care providers, improves access and optimizes scarce clinical resources. Results of the pilot programs include the following highlights:

More than 95 percent of patients were satisfied with the Cisco HealthPresence experience
More than 95 percent of patients felt that the visit was confidential
More than 90 percent would recommend the service to others

Cisco HealthPresence

Conceptualized, designed and piloted by the Cisco® Internet Business Solutions Group, the company's global strategic consulting arm, and currently being developed by Cisco's Advanced Services Healthcare Solutions group, Cisco HealthPresence combines Cisco TelePresence, a live, real-time solution that delivers face-to-face interactions over the network, with call center-like technology and a highly secure telemetry network to deliver medical services at a distance, similar to what one experiences during an in-person visit to a doctor's office.

Cisco HealthPresence provides a communication and collaboration platform that is designed to help a remote physician evaluate patients based on physiological data derived from a variety of medical devices such as a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter and other diagnostic equipment. Each Cisco HealthPresence unit is staffed by an attendant trained to operate the medical devices under the instructions of the remote health care professional, who may be hundreds of miles away.

Aberdeen, Scotland Pilot Results

The Scottish Centre for Telehealth, Cisco and the National Health Service are continuing to test Cisco HealthPresence at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in Scotland to provide a remote clinic experience for patients with non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

Following are the responses from patients (51 percent male, 49 percent female, aged 16 to more than 75) who participated in the Aberdeen trial beginning in January 2008. (Full details of the clinical assessment are scheduled to be available in July 2009.)
- 99 percent of the patients said they were satisfied with the experience.
- 95 percent said they felt the visit was confidential.
- 93 percent said they would recommend the service.

San Jose, Calif., Pilot Results

UnitedHealth Group (UHG) and Cisco, in partnership with HealthCare Partners began a pilot of Cisco HealthPresence with Cisco employees at Cisco's San Jose headquarters in October 2008 to determine its usefulness as an alternative to in-person doctor's visits. UHG coordinated the administrative processes for the visits to include scheduling, physicians' payments, the coordination of benefits, and the network availability of clinical services.

Responses from the patients who participated in the San Jose pilot follow:
- 97 percent said they were able to communicate effectively with health care professionals using the service.
- 98 percent said they were comfortable using the technology.
- 90 percent said they would recommend the service.

Looking to the Future

Because of the positive responses from employees and physicians, Cisco is planning to expand the Cisco HealthPresence pilots to employees on other campuses around the United States, connecting Cisco employees to the most appropriate clinical professionals. Cisco and UHG are also working to expand the provider network participating in the Cisco HealthPresence pilot to include specialists.

In collaboration with New Zealand's West Coast District Health Board, Gen-i, a Cisco Registered Partner, and Cisco began to test Cisco HealthPresence in July 2008 to evaluate its potential to expand the availability of medical resources and provide patients with convenient and timely access to medical care. Anecdotal feedback from the nursing staff indicate that Cisco HealthPresence is enabling the staff to make quicker and more effective clinical decisions, as well as significantly reduce patient travel requirements. In general, there is strong support from both clinical and administrative staff for the care model.

Supporting Quotes

Dr. James Ferguson, Scottish Centre for Telehealth

"I had not expected patients to like it as much as they did -- especially the older ones who are less familiar with technology. I was gratified by the enthusiasm they showed, and many volunteered ideas about how HealthPresence could improve medical care in their community."

Richard Wootton, director, Scottish Centre for Telehealth

"The first phase of the study at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, suggests that technologies such as HealthPresence could be transformative in our ability to deliver care effectively by bringing services to citizens as opposed to citizens to services."

Steve Rodgers, executive vice president, UnitedHealth Group

"Working collaboratively with regional health care providers and state and federal government organizations, UHG and Cisco believe that it is possible to extend the use of these kinds of solutions to communities throughout the United States."

Kaveh Safavi, vice president, Global Healthcare Practice, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group

"It's clear that there is a global demand for better access to health care resources that can provide patients with the best possible care. Simply making more doctors available is often not possible. Cisco HealthPresence is an example of our innovative approach to developing technologies that improve the quality of the health care experience, simplify health care communications, and connect patients with medical providers in a convenient and efficient manner."

Shashi Kiran, San Jose trial patient

"I found the Cisco HealthPresence visit wasn't any different from a visit to my regular family physician, except it was on campus and more convenient. The diagnostics were much faster and quality of consultation experience was better than what I'd expected."

Technorati Tags: Cisco, Remote Care, Trial, Care at-a-distance, Patient, Care, Video, Podcast

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About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco news and information are available at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Cisco, the Cisco logo, Cisco Systems, Cisco HealthPresence and Cisco TelePresence are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

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Cisco Telemedicine Pilot Program Demonstrates a New Way to Deliver Health Services Across the Globe

Cisco HealthPresence Pilot Results From Scotland and California Show That More Than 95% of Patients Are Satisfied With Remote Care

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