VA contracts for disaster relief telehealth

The Office of Emergency Management at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Martinsburg, W.Va., has awarded a contract to Troop Health Initiatives for the JEMS Technology Disaster Relief Telehealth System.

The JEMS systems will be used by the VA as a disaster relief telehealth unit, officials said, connecting medical professionals and first responders in the field to specialist physicians at the VA hospital.

JEMS Technology specializes in secure, encrypted real-time video to hand held devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Android-based phones and tablets. Bay City, Mich.-based THI is a JEMS Technology government and commercial reseller.

Using the JEMS Disaster Relief Telehealth System, medical professionals can send live streaming video to a specialty physician via a JEMS mobile unit. The specialist will be able to review the video on their smart device and respond with medical advice.