NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

In a country with continental dimensions such as Brazil, distance or difficulty of access may hinder medical care. Travelling to urban centers is often necessary for consulting specialists, and when the patient is a child, we face an even more delicate situation. Cisco is announcing today a pilot project developed with the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS) that will shorten distances and expedite service to patients.

Through telemedicine — medical care via telepresence — proper care will be provided for children from rural and less populated areas in Sergipe, as well as from the towns of Lagarto and Tobias Barreto, in the Northeast region of the country, with the help of hospitals and specialists from Aracaju, capital of the state, and So Cristovo, where the UFS campus is located. The goal is to improve access to specialized care and the quality of life and services received by children and their families.

The project is part of Cisco’s global program of social responsibility called “Connected Healthy Children”, and combines the efforts of UFS, an institution acknowledged for its excellence in medical sciences, with those of medical assistance providers in the cities involved. It is also sponsored by the State Secretary of Health,Ministry of Health and City Halls of Tobias Barreto and Lagarto.