Adobe Success Story

World leader in fetal diagnostics and treatment
The Fetal Treatment Center at UCSF Medical Center is world renowned for treating complex congenital defects in utero. As the first institution to develop fetal surgery techniques over two decades ago, the Center has more expertise and experience in fetal medicine than any other institution in the world. Integrating teams of specialists in surgery, genetics, obstetrics/perinatology, radiology, nursing, and neonatal medicine, the Center provides a one-stop approach to fetal treatment, from diagnosis through long-term follow-up.

Benefits

• Expanded patient and doctor access to consultations with leading specialists
• Integrated scalable, efficient web-based consultations
• Enhanced security of sensitive patient information delivered online
• Established new revenue stream for UCSF Medical Center
• Adhered to archiving requirements

Project Details

Access to medical expertise can be severely limited simply by where a patient lives. Now, with Macromedia Breeze technology from Adobe, experts at the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center—who perform more than 500 fetal surgeries and consult on thousands of cases a year—are making themselves more accessible to patients and referring physicians anywhere in the world.

The first of its kind at UCSF, the Fetal Treatment Center online patient program creates an informative and reassuring experience for the patient by enabling doctors and patients to securely review diagnostic images and share medical reports while engaged in face-to-face discussions via web camera.

Top-notch doctor-patient collaboration
Online second opinions are an emerging aspect of fetal care. "Hospitals everywhere will look at our program as a new model to help save lives," says Colin Fahrion, web manager at the Fetal Treatment Center. "With Breeze, we can eliminate geographic barriers to world-class expertise for patients and physicians." According to Fahrion, there is a definite initiative to leverage technology in hospitals to streamline operations and explore new revenue opportunities.

When evaluating web conferencing solutions, the UCSF Medical Center team considered ease of use, open access, system requirements, and cost, as well as security. The Breeze technology was clearly easy to use, a critical success indicator because consultations revolve around different computing environments and varying levels of computer literacy.

Hospital staff simply does not have time to prepare for a complicated web conferencing process. "With Breeze, we don't have to require that patients have special software or do any advance preparation. We just send them the link," says Fahrion. Images are rapidly uploaded into a predesigned meeting layout; no time is wasted on complicated technical setup, waiting for downloads, or idling while applications launch.

Teams of specialists can initiate secure, easy-to-use Breeze sessions to meet in real time with patients and their hometown practitioners. With Breeze, doctors can point to a specific section of a sonogram during a consultation, making it easier for patients to understand the discussion. The Whiteboard tool in Breeze enables doctors to clarify complex information and pinpoint problems.

Addressing security concerns
In addition to the low-resolution screen images used during consultation, high-resolution images are stored for detailed study by the referring physician as well as the UCSF staff. All consultations in Breeze are recorded to satisfy legal requirements and to provide easily searchable documentation as each case progresses.

Breeze is enabling the Center to address the stringent patient privacy and security challenges that healthcare organizations face. Mindful of hospital regulations, administrators encrypt files through a secure Internet portal and never send patient information via e-mail. All interactions transpire over 128-bit transmissions, and each patient is given a unique link. The fact that the only delivery requirement is Macromedia Flash® Player from Adobe, which is installed on more than 98% of computers, is key to the program's success.

Scalable revenue opportunity
To better serve patients the Center's online patient program, called Inside, provides a new revenue source for the Center. "Previously, doctors would mail, e-mail, or phone in opinions on an informal, ad hoc basis—basically as professional courtesy," says Fahrion. "These mothers were not actual patients, so we were not able to give them the full attention they deserved; additionally, there was no model to charge for this service." Now the online patient program enables the Center to better commit to these patients' needs, scale the service, and charge accordingly for services provided.

The Inside online patient program operates as a hosted service through Adobe, giving the hospital the benefit of quickly getting up and running with Breeze without requiring the time and expense of setting up and managing servers on premise. As demand for online consultation grows, the Treatment Center plans to move to a licensed Breeze solution to provide the right level of security and flexibility to scale with the Center's program. Moving to an on-site solution will also enable the Center to manage costs in the long run.

"Without the online program, a patient's only option was to come to San Francisco to discuss a complicated issue," says Fahrion. Now travel costs are eliminated and the patient does not have to make a trip. Additionally, the cost of an online consultation is much less than that the cost of an on-site visit.

Looking forward, the Fetal Treatment Center will be working to partner with other doctors and medical centers to expand the use of the service and help more patients. As they develop their services, Breeze will become a greater resource increasing communication and collaboration across their expanding doctor network.

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