 Wouldn’t it be great to have secure electronic collaboration between all levels within the health services: hospitals, GPs, pharmacies, laboratories, community health services, and citizens. This could very well be the near future in the county of Troms in northern Norway.
Regional testbed for telemedicine
For a number of years, Troms has been at the forefront in using telemedicine and electronic collaboration within the health services. Now researchers and stakeholders are taking the whole initiative a few steps forward, connecting all levels of health care together and building a testbed for future health services to benefit everyone who lives in the county. The key factors are fast Internet access and secure lines.
The Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine (NST) is the lead partner in this massive project, and research manager at NST, Gunn-Hilde Rotvold, has a grand vision: “Troms County will be a laboratory for developing and piloting future ICT solutions for the health services”
Using the fast and secure lines of the Norwegian Health Net, services such as electronic laboratory results, teledialysis and dermatological counselling through the Internet can be extended to serve the citizens of the whole region.
“Troms county will be a laboratory for developing and piloting future ICT solutions for the health services”
- Gunn-Hilde Rotvold, NST
International market potential
“Right now we are establishing close cooperation between health providers, industry, and the research communities, and we are preparing the ground for connecting the health services on all levels in the county together electronically.”
The solutions to be developed in FUNNKe will be thoroughly tested in practice in the region. This way, Troms can offer fully functional services and knowledge to the health services both in Norway and internationally in a few years.
 Contact person at NST
Gunn-Hilde Rotvold, research manager, direct telephone (mobile) +47 992 69 511 and email Gunn-Hilde.Rotvold@telemed.no
Project facts
The project partners are the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine (NST), the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN) and the 31 municipalities in and around Troms that work in close cooperation with UNN. The project is financed by the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine and the Norwegian regional development programme.
You can download the project leaflet (pdf) from this webpage: http://www.telemed.no/brochures-and-facts.544897-42657.html
Facts about Troms
- Population: 155 061
- 25 954 square kilometres (10 000 square miles)
- 25 municipalities
- Three hospitals
- About 200 GPs
- 59.6 % of private households have a broadband Internet connection installed (end of 2007)
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