NATO and Russia are working together on a multinational system using telecommunications to provide healthcare at a distance using an international network of medical specialists. In February, a high level kick-off meeting on telemedicine was held at NATO Headquarters and was attended by over 70 participants.
The project was developed following a series of workshops held over the past two years in Bucharest and Moscow to discuss using telemedicine. Also, a team of Allied and Russian experts are developing telemedicine under the NATO Russia Council for Peace and Security (NRC-SPC) Committee.
During the first phase of the multiyear telemedicine project, Romania, Russia, and the U.S telemedicine systems will be connected. Next, the telemedicine system will be further developed to include a disaster exercise.
Over the next two years the project team will work to connect three national telemedicine systems that will include Romania, the Russian Federation, and the U.S. The project will conclude with a proof of concept exercise to test the capability of the telemedicine system by 2016.
“I believe that the project has a great future ahead, commented Ambassador Sorin Ducaru, Assistant Secretary General, Emerging Security Challenges Division at NATO, and Chairman of the NRC-SPC Committee. He added, “There is high level political backing and an incredible pool of scientists sand experts taking part.”