The U.S. Navy conducted its first telemedicine consultations from a hospital ship out at sea. It used technology developed by GlobalMed.
The Navy earned U.S. Department of Defense Authority to Operate on DoD networks. The certification enables GlobalMed to put its telehealth applications, hardware and software directly on the DoD network.
The Navy used the technology to transmit vital signs as well as ENT and head/neck skin examinations to specialists at Falls Church, Va.-based Military Health System, which includes 57 hospitals.
The Navy also conducted its first-ever "tele-procedural mentorship," via which a medically certified naval officer aboard the ship placed a tourniquet and performed a needle thoracostomy and a cricothyroidotomy, guided remotely by an ENT resident at Naval Medical Center San Diego.