Science & Technology
Mon, September 10, 2012 
SAN JOSE, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--[ Polycom, Inc ]. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the global leader in open standards-based unified communications, today announced that the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) has expanded the telepsychiatry consultation program for community hospital emergency departments it first implemented on the Polycom RealPresence Platform in 2010 to 21 hospitals throughout the state. The program, which originally connected 15 hospitals, has enabled SCDMH psychiatrists to conduct more than 12,100 rapid consultations with patients in hospital emergency departments, reducing the cost per treatment episode by over $1,800 for a total taxpayer savings of more than $21.7 million.
"This enhances the treatment experience for patients and their families, and it provides significant cost savings for taxpayers by shifting more treatment to outpatient care. Polycom video solutions help us achieve our emphasis on community-based care and our ongoing efforts to reduce rehospitalizations."
Rapid Intervention and Community-based Care Improving Outcomes and Reducing Unnecessary Rehospitalizations
aOur telepsychiatry consultation program is focused on accelerating the initial treatment for patients to improve health outcomes and reduce the length of hospitalizations,a said Ed Spencer, Director of SCDMHas Telepsychiatry Consultation Program. aThis enhances the treatment experience for patients and their families, and it provides significant cost savings for taxpayers by shifting more treatment to outpatient care. Polycom video solutions help us achieve our emphasis on community-based care and our ongoing efforts to reduce rehospitalizations.a
Prior to the launch of the telepsychiatry consultation program, the average mental health emergency-department admittance resulted in a five-to-six day hospital stay. Today, 43 percent of patients are discharged the same day they enter the hospital. Moreover, the early psychiatric intervention has helped increase adherence to post-hospitalization outpatient care programs by nearly 200 percent.
Polycom Immersive Video Enhances Consults with HD Detail of Patient Symptoms
aThe use of Polycomas HD video is one of the keys to our systemas performance,a said Brenda Ratliff, MD, Program Medical Director. aWhile the verbal interaction between doctor and patient is very important during a psych consult, the non-verbal cues can be even more important. Psychiatrists can learn a tremendous amount by looking for subtle indicators, such as lack of eye contact, abnormal movement, or enlarged pupils. HD video is helping us provide the best possible treatment for our patients.a
In addition, the reliability and ease of use of the Polycom solutions are key factors in the programas success, noted Robert L. Bank, SCDMH Medical Director. aWe donat need to spend much time training our doctors,a he said. aThe environment is intuitive and our solution is essentially turn-key. It works very well.a
The programas success has led to plans for further expansion, with the number of participating hospitals slated to increase from 21 to 30 in 2012, and the availability of telepsychiatry services scheduled to move from 16 hours per day to 24/7. Eight other states have contacted SCDMH to gather information about rolling out similar services.
SCDMH has installed Polycom RealPresence Desktop Systems - HDX 4000 in the physiciansa offices and wireless, high-definition Polycom Practitioner Cartsa" in the patientsa rooms at participating hospitals. Natural, crisp conversations can occur even when multiple parties are speaking, and Constant Claritya" technology, protects voice and video a" even during packet loss scenarios on crowded networks. The carts can be moved nearly anywhere in an emergency department where a patient is waiting. In addition, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health uses the Polycom RealPresence Platform a" the most interoperable and comprehensive software infrastructure for universal video collaboration a" to power their video delivery.
About the South Carolina Department of Mental Health
The South Carolina Department of Mental Health serves approximately 100,000 citizens with mental illness, approximately 30,000 of whom are children and adolescents.The Department provides care via an outpatient, community-based system, comprising 17 community mental health centers, four psychiatric hospitals, three veteransa nursing homes, and one community nursing home.
Polycom Delivers Transformative Solutions for Healthcare
Healthcare organizations the world over are turning to Polycom video collaboration solutions to transform how they learn, teach, and deliver care. Polycom solutions eliminate the distances between patients and caregivers, between physicians and educators, and between medical facilities. Eight of the top 10 hospitals worldwide are Polycom customers, using Polycom technology to reduce patient evaluation times, treat patients remotely, improve medical education, enhance caregiver productivity and quality of life, streamline hospital operations, reduce costs, and ultimately save lives.
About Polycom
Polycom is the global leader in open standards-based unified communications (UC) solutions for voice and video collaboration, trusted by more than 415,000 customers around the world. Polycom solutions are powered by the Polycom RealPresence Platform, comprehensive software infrastructure and rich APIs that interoperate with the broadest set of communication, business, mobile and cloud applications and devices to deliver secure face-to-face video collaboration in any environment. Polycom and its ecosystem of over 7,000 partners provide truly unified communications solutions that deliver the best user experience, highest multi-vendor interoperability, and lowest TCO.Visit [ www.polycom.com ] or connect with us on [ Twitter ], [ Facebook ], and [ LinkedIn ] to learn how weare pushing the greatness of human collaboration forward.
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