As a result, Salud has reduced travel costs since staff members no longer need to go from clinic-to-clinic to accomplish what can be done effectively over video instead. Salud’s physicians, dentists and other medical providers are able to focus even more time on their patients, which have subsequently increased patient outreach and related revenue.

Salud operates 14 medical clinics (Family Health Centers) in nine very diverse communities encompassing six thousand square miles – some in very rural areas – so Salud physicians would travel 150 miles or more between locations for required meetings and appointments. Long travel times and associated expenses, as well as lost time on travel, led to Salud evaluating videoconferencing solutions that would enable the Centers to realize greater overall efficiencies.

John Santistevan, CFO of Salud Family Health Centers. “We have been very pleased with our decision to implement LifeSize high definition video communications due to the quality of the transmissions and cost savings opportunities.”

LifeSize Room is a high definition video communications product that allows geographically distributed participants in multiple locations to experience more effective, true-to-life interactions. LifeSize Room enables all meeting attendees can see each other and various content simultaneously, thus allowing participants to stay focused and engaged on the meeting content just as if they were in the same physical location.

Salud already uses LifeSize Room systems to conduct approximately ten videoconferencing sessions each month with attendees in various locations. These interactions include compliance and certification trainings such as HIPAA and OSHA, client consultations and recently even a review of Salud’s Avian Flu preparedness plan.

LifeSize HD video communications will also allow Salud the opportunity to cost-effectively expand its training curriculum and, in the future, extend the Centers’ reach to other outside medical facilities for enhancing patient care.

“Video communications in real time encourages the type of lively interaction that you find when everyone is meeting in the same room,” said Jennifer Morse, development director at Salud Family Health Centers.

Craig Malloy, CEO of LifeSize, said: “Telemedicine is becoming a significant high definition video communications application given the many different ways it has a positive impact on the quality of life. Salud is very representative of LifeSize telemedicine customers that are benefiting from this progressive technology by providing improved and enhanced services to their constituents while also increasing their operational efficiencies and bottom-lines.”

Salud Family Health Center is a Community Health Center that provides health care to the low-income, medically undeserved population. Salud is an extensive primary health care delivery system with 14 community, migrant, teen, children and women’s health clinics in nine service sites in northeastern and north central Colorado and in six counties.