Australia Interested in PMR Videoconferencing Abilities

The Cerebral Palsy Program in the UNC Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation recently hosted a visitor from Australia. Liz Foy, general manager of service development and communications for The Spastic Centre in Terrey Hills, Australia, learned about the TelAbility telehealth program and other services for children with cerebral palsy during a tour from Joshua Alexander, MD, associate professor. She and her American counterparts from Easter Seals UCP North Carolina also took part in a teleconference with Juliellen Simpson-Vos, TelAbility project director, in which they learned about the high customer satisfaction and cost savings of teleconferencing. Ms. Foy voiced interest in implementing a similar videoconferencing system for patients and providers in rural Australia. The group also discussed possible future collaboration, including participation at an upcoming international cerebral palsy conference in February 2009.