6. KONFERENCA O TELEMEDICINI 

''E-ZDRAVJE BREZ MEJA'' V PORTOROŽU:

V portoroškem Grand hotelu Bernardin bo 6. in 7. maja v organizaciji slovenskega ministrstva za zdravje šesta mednarodna konferenca na visoki ravni o telemedicini z naslovom E-zdravje brez meja (e-Health Without Frontiers). To bo vsekakor najpomembnejši dogodek na področju širitve telemedicine v Evropski uniji v tem letu in prva konferenca te vrste v kaki novi članici evropske povezave.

 In kaj je telemedicina kot razmeroma nova oblika zdravstvene pomoči v svetu? Telemedicino lahko razložimo kot uporabo najsodobnejših telekomunikacijskih in informacijskih tehnologij za zdravniško pomoč na daljavo. To pomeni, da ni nikakršna nova veja medicine in v praksi pomeni zdravniško preizkovanje pacientov, njihovo zdravstveno nadzorovanje in ravnanje z njimi na daljavo s pomočjo elektronskih sredstev komuniciranja. Tako je mogoče s pomočjo telemedicine oziroma sodobnih prenosnih komunikacijskih sredstev, kot so satelitski telefon za prenos podatkov, govora in slike, povezati zdravnika v odročnih krajih, kjer ni ustreznih sodobnih zdravstvenih ustanov in orodij z velikimi medicinskimi središči v razvitem svetu. In od tam dobiti ustrezne napotke za zdravljenje ali celo voditi oddaljenega zdravnika pri kirurškem posegu ali internističnem zdravljenju.

 Na konferenci bosta navzoča tudi vodilna predstavnika telemedicine v svetu, predsednik Mednarodne virtualne e-bolnišnice (IVEH) prof. dr. Rifat Latifi in podpredsednica IVEH-a doc. dr. Mateja de Leonni Stanonik. Oba sta ugledna zdravnika, raziskovalca in znanstvenika na področju medicine v Združenih državah Amerike. Prof. dr. Rifat Latifi je svetovna avtoriteta v telemedicini, profesor kirurgije in predstojnik oddelka za travmatologijo na Univerzi v Arizoni, po rodu je s Kosova. Docentka dr. Mateja de Leonni Stanonik je Slovenka, doktorica nevroloških znanosti in predava na Univerzi George Washington. Obadva imata tudi največ praktičnih izkušenj na področju telemedicine v svetu v razvoju doslej.

 Na šesti mednarodni konferenci v Portorožu bodo poleg zasedanja v plenumu pripravili tudi več področnih razprav v sekcijah, v katerih bodo preučevali konkretne vidike dela in povezovanja zdravnikov, vključenih v telemedicino, pogoje dela ter možnosti za razširitev načel e-zdravja brez meja. Naj omenimo, da bo predsednik Slovenije dr. Danilo Türk v okviru konference sprejel oba vodilna strokovnjaka, predstavnika IVEH-a, prof. dr. Rifata Latifija in doc. dr. Matejo de Leonni Stanonik.

“I’ve always been driven by some mad hope that nothing is impossible.  The expected is what keeps us standing, what keeps us steady; the expected is just the beginning, but the unexpected is what changes our lives!”

It's 4 a.m. deep within the Amazon jungle when Dr. Mateja de Leonni Stanonik emerges from a makeshift clinic surrounded by a dozen children.

 They came to her on kayaks and on foot with infections and diseases long eradicated in America. For many, it's the first time they've ever seen a doctor.

As she boards a boat that will carry her to another remote village further down the Amazon river, dr. de Leonni Stanonik promises to return.

 Dr. de Leonni Stanonik's together with Prof. dr. Rifat Latifi, leads the International Virtual e-Hospital (IVeH) Foundation to ensure children like these will have quick access to someone like her in the future. What makes her story inspiring is that a little over a year ago, the Slovenian native had never heard of the Alaska-based nonprofit that promotes telemedicine as a way to bring specialized health care to medically underserved or remote areas of the world. She was preparing for her career as clinician and neuroscientist, where she planned to further her research into Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Then she received a phone call from a family friend, the swimmer Martin Strel, that, to many, would sound absurd: he was going to swim the Amazon river and wanted her to be his physician. Soon, dr. de Leonni Stanonik found her way to IVeH and began assembling an international medical team of specialists who would assist her virtually, through medical equipment and internet connections, during the expedition. By the time the 66-day journey ended, dr. de Leonni Stanonik had demonstrated the telemedicine concept to hospital administrators and government leaders in 17 communities from Atalaya, Peru, to Belém, Brazil.

Today, this Slovenian native takes time out of her busy clinical schedule to continue the work of IVeH, where she serves as vice president of the organization's virtual team in Slovenia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Peru, Brazil, and Yemen. With a grant from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, IVeH has opened a dozen regional telemedicine centers in the Balkans and trained 49 doctors and nurses from Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro at its facilities in Alaska and Arizona. Now, dr. de Leonni Stanonik’s team has initiated a similar project for the remote areas of the Amazon jungle she visited during the Amazon Expedition accompanying Martin Strel when he swam the entire length of the Amazon.

"To be able to give people hope and a chance to have good health is a primary motivating factor for all of us, whether we come from Slovenia, Peru, or the United States," she said. "We can prove to the world that we can be human and humane as we are fostering international collaboration, as well as sustaining cutting-edge advancements in medicine and technology - all in efforts to make this a better, safer and more humane world."

Mateja de Leonni Stanonik, BA, BSc, MA, MD, PhD, native to Slovenia (Gorenjska), completed her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology (BSc.), as well as in German and Political Science (B.A.), Masters degree in Cognitive Psychology and Doctoral (Ph.D.) degree in Neuroscience. She also obtained her M.D. degree and Postdoctoral studies in Neuroradiology.   At the International Virtual e-Hospital (www.iveh.org) she leads the establishment of the self-sustainable telemedicine and e-health programs around the world, one country at a time, using telemedicine, advanced technologies, medical diplomacy, and culturally responsive exchanges and collaboration as a platform.

Dr. de Leonni Stanonik also serves as the Hon. Consul Gen. from the Republic of Slovenia to the United States, and she serves as the Vice President of the Slovenian World Congress.