Named
June 8, 2005
From: AHSC Public Affairs, (520)
626-7301
The Institute for Advanced Telemedicine and Telehealth (THealth), a division
of the national award-winning Arizona
Telemedicine Program, has designated University Physicians Healthcare (UPH) Hospital at
Kino Campus as a Center for Clinical Innovation.
Ronald S. Weinstein, MD, director of the
Arizona Telemedicine Program and head of the UA Department of Pathology, said
THealth recently received a $1.2 million federal “earmark” to equip a
state-of-the art education facility in
Tucson-based
“This is an exceptionally good fit,
because part of the UPH mission is to support innovative health-related
research,” said UPH CEO Norm
Botsford, adding that at UPH Kino,
THealth will carry out clinical trials on new systems that increase
the efficiency and effectiveness of health-care delivery.
The Arizona
Telemedicine Program has many clinical projects. Since its inception in
1996, the Arizona Telemedicine Program and its affiliates have received 45
grants totaling more than $16 million.
“UPH will provide THealth an
outstanding environment to ‘think outside of the box’ and create truly
innovative clinical services that benefit patients,” Dr. Weinstein said.
“At UPH, there is a ‘can-do’ attitude that is nurturing for health care
innovators. UPH has been energized in a way that will promote a new wave
of creativity among the clinical faculty at The University of Arizona College of
Medicine,” Dr. Weinstein predicted.
Mr. Botsford added, “UPH is proud of
its origins and its deep roots in the community. Now, we also want
to play a role in developing model programs that will leverage the latest
technologies into better and more efficient health care in the region. The
Arizona Telemedicine Program has a history of using advanced technologies to
improve health care in geographically underserved areas, such as rural
communities and on the Indian Reservations. UPH wants to take the lead in
the area of urban telemedicine.”
“The leadership at UPH is visionary,
even by national standards,” added Dr. Weinstein, a past-president of the
American Telemedicine Association. “I predict that UPH will emerge as a
significant national player in the development of innovative health care
systems.”
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Senior Public Affairs
Coordinator
sguthrie@email.arizona.edu