Dear Reader,

I trust that you have had a good summer. And for those who took vacations, that you have had some rest and relaxtion. We have an exciting period ahead of us. As you, no doubt, have seen through the various "Member Announcements" the Fall and Winter are packed with activities. We look forward to seeing you at the Carrefour de la Télésanté - 19th ISfTeH International Conference on October 16 - 17 in Paris. Our French national member association, CATEL, has quite the program for your education, knowledge sharing and networking. I invite you to visit their website for more information.

I would like to announce a new event on the landscape. The ISfTeH is planning the first World Telemedicine & eHealth Forum (WTeHF) for March 24 - 26, 2015 at the Abu Dhabi National Events Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The WTeHF is aimed at enhancing international dialogue and global cooperation among participants from various stakeholder groups - Academia, government, industry, and civil society - on key aspects of the ICT for health industry. We expect to attract between 500 and 1,000 policy and decision-makers, healthcare managers, service providers, researchers, product manufacturers, solutions developers and end users from across the globe. The Forum will comprehensively cover the state of the art in the use of ICT in health, as well as offer unprecedented networking opportunities.

We will leverage our experience in delivering these through the ISfTeH International Conferences and Med-e-Tel, over the past 19 and 12 years, respectively, to meet the Forum's mission of knowledge dissemination, connecting customers and sellers, while having fun in the sun.

The WTeHF is destined to become the world's largest and most important annual Telemedicine & m-eHealth event, the "Must Go" event for all those who are active in the field of Telemedicine and m-eHealth. It will feature the award of the World Telemedicine & eHealth Trophy (WTeHT), which will:

• Recognize and celebrate excellence in the field of Telemedicine and m-eHealth
• Support outstanding initiatives in the field

We expect The Trophy to become "the ultimate symbol of achievement in the field of Telemedicine and m-eHealth".

I am also happy to announce that the ISfTeH 20th International Conference is confirmed for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 28 - 30, 2015. A theme has been selected for the event - "Telehealth for Universal Health Coverage". After the World Cup and before the Olympics, we welcome you to capture the beauty and excitement of Rio. So, save the dates.

Sincerely,

Prof. S. Yunkap Kwankam

Executive Director

National Member News 

(organized by the T.S.A. (Telecare Services Association) - U.K.

Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales

• The International Telecare and Telehealth Conference is the largest in the world focusing exclusively on telecare and telehealth
• A two day interactive, thought provoking, practical conference with the best and brightest speakers in our industry
• Industry focused break-out sessions on tackling the Solutions for 21st Century Care through the use of technology
• Exhibition and showcase zones featuring the latest technological innovations
• Connect with the thought leaders and gain insight into future trends

For further information and to view the programme please visit:

www.telecare.org.uk/conference

Telepsychiatry Trials

Dr Dikobe (South Africa)

sent in by Dr. Moretlo Molefi (South Africa) 

For the past 3 years, I've been toying with the idea of conducting "remote/distant psychotherapy". Mainly because some patients of mine have had to travel more than 100km just to come see me. After attending the APA (American Psychiatric Association) annual meeting in New York during May this year, I was inspired by what my American colleagues were already doing, and with great success. Telepsychiatry is being used successfully in developed countries, and patients are benefiting from it. I searched the net for similar practices here in South Africa, and found the VTC which is being led by Dr Moretlo Molefi.

Now having tried out the Telepsychiatry in my own practice, on inpatients that I'm treating at Akasia Netcare Hospital, I found the experience to have been a great success. As I had explained the process to the patients verbally, and gave them an information leaflet, I found that they accepted the concept quite positively. The use of video teleconferencing is not a foreign concept in the business world. So in the correct environment and under appropriate supervision, the use of teleconferencing technology can definitely improve in service delivery in mental health.

Warmest regards,

Dr Lerato Dikobe

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Health Center of Excellence - HCE

Neshad ASLLANI, CEO and ISfTeH Individual member

ISfTeH Discussion Forum

A discussion forum is open on the ISfTeH website, and is accessible to all duly registered members. Login with your username and password and you will see the "Discussion Forum" appearing on the top menu toolbar. In the Discussion Forum you will find the list of ongoing discussions or messages.

We encourage all members to use regularly this communication tool and to participate as such in dissemination of available experiences and information. 

Should you have any additional questions, please submit via: info@isfteh.org