Vermont Links with Vietnam in First-Ever Telemedicine Project
Press Release, December 4, 1998

This morning, sites in Vermont, northern New York and Washington, D.C. were linked with the other side of the globe in the first-ever telemedicine hookup involving Vietnam. The hookup carried live images of doctors and patients in Vermont and northern New York -- including open-heart surgery in Burlington, Vt. The demonstration project was the result of a partnership involving the University of Vermont (UVM) College of Medicine, Fletcher Allen Health Care and UPLIFT International, a humanitarian medical assistance organization.

In Vermont, the event was hosted by John Evans, PhD, executive dean of the UVM College of Medicine and Fletcher Allen, and included area health professionals and patients participating from sites at Fletcher Allen in Burlington and at Canton-Potsdam Hospital in Potsdam, N.Y. Witnessing the event from Washington, D.C. were UVM/Fletcher Allen representatives, officials from UPLIFT International and The George Washington University Medical Center -- along with special Vermont guests US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and his wife, Marcelle Leahy. It was Senator Leahy who originally suggested that UVM and Fletcher Allen collaborate with UPLIFT International.

In Vietnam for the event was a local team who included Michael Ricci, MD, medical director of the UVM/Fletcher Allen telemedicine system.

The demonstration involved the first telemedicine-related use of advanced Global ISDN telephone lines in Vietnam -- a link accomplished by MCI WorldCom. The project initially will link three hospitals in Hanoi and Hanoi Medical College with UVM/Fletcher Allen and George Washington University Medical centers. Additional medical institutions in the U.S. and Vietnam will be added as the program evolves. The goal is to improve the level of medical education in Vietnam. When fully implemented, the program will provide advanced medical training for medical students and physicians in both the U.S. and Vietnam, enabling people in both countries to share knowledge about conditions and techniques that are less common at one site or the other. The program also will include exchanges of students and physicians.

But for now, the focus is on the initial telemedicine link. "This effort is a logical extension of our telemedicine program," said Evans. "We designed our system to serve, teach and learn from the people of our region by linking physicians and patients across some of the nation's most rural and rugged territory. Now we see an opportunity to serve, teach and learn from the people of Vietnam by extending our expertise across the globe."

The UVM/Fletcher Allen approach to telemedicine has earned recognition as one of the nation's top ten telemedicine programs by Telemedicine and Telehealth Networks Magazine for two years in a row. The system has also been nominated for the journal's telemedicine hall of fame. Vermont was among the first states to explore methods of providing health care at a distance. Now Vermont's system provides a tool for daily consultations around the state and in northeastern New York, while experts in Vermont are teaching others from around the world how to use this promising new technology through conferences in Burlington. Vermont's interactive experience started in 1968 with a two-way interactive conferencing network known as INTERACT.

UVM/Fletcher Allen's primary partner in the Vietnam effort is UPLIFT International. UPLIFT's mission is to build a bridge of cooperation and understanding between the peoples of the U.S. and Southeast Asia through the advancement of health care, medical education and related technology. This is UPLIFT's second major initiative in Asia in the past three months. On Sept. 11, UPLIFT sent a Federal Express DC-10 filled with 30 tons of medical supplies to Indonesia to aid that nation's people in the midst of an economic and health-care crisis. Now UPLIFT hopes to expand its aid through telemedicine.

"We're extremely pleased with this demonstration of the capabilities of our telemedicine program" said Mark Schlansky, co-founder and chairman of UPLIFT International and a Boeing executive. "We want to use telemedicine as a tool for medical education and cooperation between the U.S. and Vietnamese medical communities. Telemedicine is part of our long-term commitment to medical education and health care in Vietnam." Additional collaborators in the Vietnam telemedicine effort are MCI WorldCom, which leads the market with Global ISDN Service on demand to more than 65 nations; and The George Washington University Medical Center, which will join UVM/Fletcher Allen in providing expertise in international medicine.

Rick Blount
Mike Noble
December 4, 1998

Top of Page