Dear Reader,

Welcome to the second edition of our reborn newsletter. The first issue, in October 2011, was well received. Positive comments and encouragement came in from far and wide.

Two events have marked the life of the Society since the last issue of the newsletter. Firstly, there were Board elections in December. This is the final year in the transition period of the Board. Previously, the entire Board was up for election every three years. In moving from this to a system where one third of the Board is renewed every year- to allow not only for injection of new blood and ideas but also to provide some continuity - the terms of office of some Board members were extended.  The elections in December of this year (2012) will end this transition period and launch the Society into the new phase.

The result of the elections saw the departure of Professor Michael Nerlich, our former President, who chose not to continue as a Board member. As President, he guided the ISfTeH from 2003, the year of its rebirth, until 2011. Under his leadership the Society has emerged as one of the pillars of the Telemedicine and eHealth profession, with recognition as an NGO in official relations with WHO, and close working ties with premier institutions in our industry, among its accomplishments.  We owe Professor Nerlich a debt of gratitude and wish him well in his future endeavors. We also say goodbye to Dr. Jarmo Reponen, former Board member representing the Finish Society for Telemedicine and eHealth. Dr. Reponen also served on the Board from 2003 to 2011.  We thank him for his years of dedicated service to the ISfTeH.  But, to both of them it is not "adieu", but simply "au revoir", as we fully expect to call on them to continue to share their expertise and wisdom for the benefit of the Society, as they have for the past eight years.

As with every transition, there is the old and the new. The Board has welcomed, as a member for the first time, Professor Rupert Gerzer elected as representative of our member association from Germany. The elections also brought to the Board Dr. André Petitet, representing our French national member association. Dr. Petitet had previously served as a coopted member of the Board. To both of them we extend a warm welcome.

The new Board, as required by the constitution of the Society, elected from among its members a Bureau consisting of President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer. We therefore extend our hearty congratulations to Dr. Andy Fischer (President), Mr. Steve Normandin (Vice President) and Mr. Frank Lievens (Secretary/Treasurer).  All three are old hands on the Board, with two of them having served on the Bureau, Dr. Fisher as Vice President and Mr. Lievens as Secretary/Treasurer. We, the entire ISfTeH family, look forward to supporting them in their leadership of the Society.

The second major activity in the life of the Society over the past three months was the launch of the Global eHealth Ambassador Program (GeHAP) on November 11, 2011. The date - 11.11.11 - was chosen for it uniqueness and, we trust, will bode well for the program. As you will have read on the Society's website, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Chair of the GeHAP, swore in five additional eHealth Ambassadors at the event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The GeHAP Secretariat is busy fleshing out the program of work of the Ambassadors, as well as pursing the recruitment of more eHealth Ambassadors. The Ambassadors are there to support the goals of the Society and can serve at all events organized under the auspices of the ISfTeH, depending of course on their availability. So, contact the Secretariat (mmccurry@isfteh.net) to get an Ambassador at your event.

Finally, I would like to seize this opportunity to wish all of you, members of the ISfTeH family, a Year full of successes that bring us closer to our collective vision of a world where Telemedicine and eHealth are used judiciously to improve the health of all people.

Prof. S. Yunkap Kwankam

ISfTeH Executive Director

National Member Spotlight
 

Armenian Association of Telemedicine (AATM) is a non-governmental, non-profit professional organization founded in December 2008.   

The mission of AATM is to promote development of Health Information and Communication Technologies in Armenia, concurrently participating in and contributing to further advancements in the field worldwide.

The vision of AATM is development of a modern patient-centric healthcare system, supported by the use of Information and Communication Technologies, with a unified Health Information Exchange integrated into global networks, for benefit of the people and the society.

The major goal of AATM is to assist in increasing quality, accessibility and affordability of health services in Armenia via deployment of Health ICT / eHealth / Telemedicine tools and applications (below referred to as TM/eH) in the local healthcare system.

AATM has the following Objectives / Strategic Directions of activities:

• Centralized coordination of and support for Telemedicine and eHealth (TM/eH) initiatives, programs, applications, services and other activities in Armenia;
• Cooperation between various local stakeholders (institutions, organizations, regulatory bodies, companies, service providers and other structures) in the field of TM/eH;
• Cooperation with major international associations, institutions, agencies and industry groups working in the field of TM/eH;
• Development of educational activities in TM/eH and assistance in staff management;
• Cooperation with relevant central and local governmental and regulatory structures;
• Assistance in developments in the legislative area relevant to the field;
• Expansion and further development of the Association.

AATM is a national member representing Armenia within the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH), and has formal partnership relations with the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), Union of Information Technology Enterprises of Armenia (UITE), and variety of local and international professional unions, academic institutions, medical centers, industry leaders and R&D groups. AATM's mission and vision are formally recognized by the country's regulatory and governmental bodies (the Government, the Ministries of Health, Economy, Transport and Communications, Education and Science).

Since creation in 2008 AATM has established partnership relations with major local and international organizations, structures and companies related to the field of Telemedicine and eHealth; performed extensive evaluation of the field and consultations necessary to initiate relevant activities; worked out field development strategy, presented it to the responsible governmental bodies, and obtained their support for proposed activities; participated in a series of local and international scientific and working meetings (conferences, seminars and business forums); successfully conducted several pilot telehealth projects and other initiatives (including "Capacity Building of Armenian Association of Telemedicine to Result in Improved Primary Healthcare Services in Armenia", 2010, funded by USAID); and designed concepts of several long-term programs intended to improve healthcare functionality and outcomes via development of Telemedicine and eHealth in Armenia (eHealth program for the country; integrated nationwide telemedicine and eHealth network; mobile health applications, among others).

On October 14-16, 2011 AATM for the first time in the country and region hosted a major international conference - the First Armenian International Congress on Telemedicine and eHealth "ARMTELEMED: Road to the Future" (http://congress.armtelemed.org).

More information on the association can be found at http://armtelemed.org. 

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A different National Member will be spotlighted each quarter. 

18 - 20 April 2012

Luxembourg

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17th ISfTeH International Conference 

Abuja, Nigeria
November 7-9, 2012 

The annual ISfTeH Conference is held each Fall.  

For updated information on this event, please visit www.isfteh.org.