Remote Medical Technology Breakthroughs And Disaster Applications Featured At American Telemedicine Association (ATA)

WASHINGTON, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) announced today that it will hold its Ninth Annual Meeting & Exhibition May 2-5 2004, at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.

This four-day meeting will explore the latest findings from clinical, biomedical, and health services research; new developments in technology, policy, legal, management issues; as well as business and practice guidelines. It will feature more than 300 presentations by medical and technology experts from around the world, as well as an exhibition of telemedicine products and services by more than 100 companies.

The conference will also include a medical readiness exercise involving a simulation of a tanker ship explosion in Tampa Bay around the theme of "Healing Our Heroes." The simulation will be hosted by the TACTRC unit of Ft. Detrick, Maryland and will utilize resources from the military, the local Tampa community and ATA exhibitors from around the world. Veteran's from the Iraq War will be present to discuss their positive health experiences with telemedicine during the war.

  Keynote addresses will be given by:
  * LTG Ronald Peake, MD, Surgeon General of the U.S. Army
  * Thomas Byron Thames, MD, AARP Board of Directors
  * William K. Sullivan, MD, CPC, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Centers for
     Medicare & Medicaid Services
  * Dennis P. Williams, PhD, Deputy Administrator, Health Resources and
     Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.

ATA will also teleconnect with a young patient at the Shriner's Childrens Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii with a disease that is being treated by experts on the Mainland. The opening session will feature an inter-generational consumer perspective including a Board representative from AARP.

  Educational courses at the conference include:
  * Corrections Telemedicine
  * Ocular Telehealth
  * Introduction to Telemedicine Communications Networks
  * Telenursing 101
  * Home Teleheatlth
  * Telemedicine and E-Health Law

  Additional best practice presentations will be given on topics including:
  * Telemedicine of the Czech Army
  * Analysis of using a PDA for Diabetes Management
  * Benefits of Telemedicine and Telehealth: Mexico Overview
  * FAST STAR - Technical Testing of Video in the Ambulance
  * Caring for Remote Populations

The 2004 ATA Annual Meeting and Exposition is developed in cooperation with the United States Army Medical Research & Material Command (USAMRMC), Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), Department of Veterans Affairs Telemedicine Strategic Healthcare Group, and Air Force Center for Telehealth & Theatre Informatics (CTTI).

For more information on the conference or to register visit http://www.americantelemed.org/

American Telemedicine Association

CONTACT: Mike Smith of American Telemedicine Association,+1-703-793-3421, cell: +1-703-623-3834, or msmith@assocvision.com

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