Technical Standards in Telehealth
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Until recently, the demand for telehealth-based medical devices was not sufficient to create unified, global technical standards. However, technical standards that were developed for associated markets have benefited telehealth. For example, use of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) H.32x standards enabled wide-scale video conferencing interoperability, which led to further growth in non-healthcare businesses. Not only has telehealth benefited from the video conferencing standards, but it is also benefiting from a reduction in the cost of equipment, as well as the improved ability to conduct interactions between parties independent of the particular hardware used. In addition, development of Health Level Seven (HL7), which provides global interoperability standards for health information technology (health IT), and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards for imaging has also been of great benefit for telehealth.26
In 2006, a group of healthcare technology companies formed the Continua Health Alliance (CHA) to establish interoperable personal telehealth solutions and technical design guidelines. The goal is to agree on a set of common technical guidelines to build interoperable sensors, home networks, telehealth platforms, and health and wellness services. CHA also has developed a technical certification program based on these guidelines. Technologies that are certified by CHA have been technically tested and validated to work together and be interoperable.26
In February 2014, the CHA announced a partnership with the mHealth Summit to create a new global entity, the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHA), under the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) corporate umbrella, to represent the consumer voice in connected health. PCHA brings together a unique combination of expertise and resources focused on plug-and-play interoperable personal health devices and services that provide new opportunities for consumers to engage in health self-improvement and connect with their social networks and healthcare providers in the pursuit of better health. 27
An example of such a standard is ZigBee/IEEE 802.15. This standard is targeted at applications requiring a low data rate, long battery life, and secure networking. ZigBee/IEEE 802.15 has become a useful wireless connectivity standard for home or facility-based telehealth. ZigBee allows telehealth devices and sensors to operate longer and with smaller power sources, enabling miniature sensors to transmit health data. ZigBee is also a very low cost and easily installed network capability, providing usability and requiring minimal technical support. The ZigBee Alliance offers two specifications (ZigBee and ZigBee RF4CE) that serve as the base networking system to facilitate its interoperable market standards.28