POLYCOM, REALCAST AND THE EMERGENT GROUP DELIVER TETHIC KEYNOTE SPEAKERS NEWT GINGRICH, RICHARD GRANGER AND KEYNOTE PANEL FEATURING THE EMERGENCE OF THE DIGITAL HOSPITAL VIA LIVE WEBCAST

 

Through a collaboration between Polycom video, RealCast web streaming and The Emergent Group, thousands of virtual conference attendees will gain access to influential healthcare keynote speakers Newt Gingrich of The Center for Health Transformation, Richard Granger of Great Britain’s NHS and key top executives from Digital Hospitals and their technology providers, all live from The Emerging Technologies and Healthcare Innovations Congress (TETHIC)

WASHINGTON, DC – Sept. 15, 2003 – Polycom, Inc., providers of video and voice conferencing solutions in collaboration with RealCast Corporation for web streaming and The Emergent Group as conference producers of TETHIC, are making available to thousands of additional participants live conference proceedings from The Emerging Technologies and Healthcare Innovations Congress (TETHIC) being held Sept. 22-24 in Washington DC at the Marriott Wardman Park.   The forum will present vital information from key leaders in the healthcare industry that will affect the future of our healthcare system.  Industry luminaries Newt Gingrich, head of the Center for Health Transformation, Richard Granger Director of Information Technology for the NHS, and The Emergence of the Digital Hospital’s panelists Gary Campbell, CEO of The Heart Center of Indiana, David Veillete, CEO of Indiana Heart Hospital, Dow Wilson, CEO of GE Medical Systems Information Technologies, Curtis James, CEO of St. Vincent’s Hospital, Pamela Pure, COO of McKesson Information Solutions and Frank Lavelle, CEO of Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services are all scheduled to speak.   In addition, this collaboration is further enhancing the exchange of information within the healthcare sector by bringing world-renowned neurologist Dr. Lee Schwamm, of Massachusetts General Hospital with Dr. Joe Kvedar of Partner’s Telemedicine, into the Polycom booth via video conferencing for workshops on remote stroke treatment.

“This is the first time the important information communicated at The Emerging Technologies and Healthcare Innovations Congress is being disseminated live to an audience beyond the physical attendees, and we are pleased that our video communications solutions are enabling that,” said Michael Baker, vice president of vertical markets for Polycom. “Our goal is to facilitate the sharing of information within the healthcare industry whether its through video telemedicine consultations, such as those conducted by Dr. Schwamm with stroke patients, affordable continuing medical education delivered via video conferencing, or through web casts like this.”

---

About RealCast

REALCASTLIVE, the leading provider of web Broadcasting/Conferencing services announces a new paradigm in Continuing Medical Education (CME).  REALCAST’s solution creates an environment for real time interaction and feedback, providing a truly personalized learning environment via the Internet.  This unique Video Streaming solution is state of the art and introduces the audience to top industry leaders and influencers offering the most up-to-date healthcare information.  These courses make it easy to pursue your education without the cost and hassle of traveling to a conference or being in class.

RealCast Corporation. Contact Ella Sherman, VP of Marketing at 866 893-6455 or via email at   ella@realcastlive.net for more information, or online at www.realcastlive.net

About Tethic

The Emerging Technologies & Healthcare Innovations Congress provides healthcare industry executives with an in-depth conference convening clinicians, healthcare executives, technology thought leaders and vendors to address the impact and promise of technology and innovation on the future of healthcare. This content-driven forum and trade show will address the relevance and role of a wide range of issues, including web-enabled business processes and medical devices, the telecommunications convergence, and advances in medical and bio-informatics. Event participants will have the opportunity to interact with technology providers and suppliers, and preview and demo new and innovative products in an exhibit setting.

About Polycom

Polycom, Inc. is the world’s technology leader of high-quality, easy-to-use video, voice, data and web conferencing and collaboration solutions.  The Polycom Office^™ is our continued commitment to make distance communications as natural and interactive as being there by providing best-in-class conferencing solutions that are interoperable, integrated and intuitive to the user. The Polycom Office is based on industry standards and supported by an open architecture that promotes interoperability in multi-vendor environments and complements leading network infrastructure platforms.

For additional information, call 1-800-POLYCOM (765-9266) or +1-408-526-9000, or visit the Polycom web site at www.polycom.com

About The Emergent Group, LLC

The Emergent Group, LLC is an event management company offering a full range of management services and partnership opportunities.  The company brings years of knowledge and experience to a variety of industries, including healthcare, media, travel, financial, entertainment and sports, and produces several premier industry-specific events including CDHCC and ETHIC.

# # #

Polycom, the Polycom logo, are registered trademarks and the Polycom Office is a trademark of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  ©2003, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.