Hot Topics in Computing: Telehealth and coronavirus - Dr. Amar Gupta

Amar Gupta

Abstract:
Healthcare is increasingly adopting a three pronged approach that involves: (i) personnel in proximity to the patient; (ii) domain experts who may be located in another city, state, or country; and (iii) computer-based analytics and other IT-based processes. Prudent application of such approaches can offer better quality of healthcare, faster access to proper attention and advice, and lower costs too. In the context of the evolving telehealth ecosystem, the discussion will include coverage of the aspects of knowledge acquisition, knowledge discovery, knowledge management, and knowledge dissemination, with greater focus on interoperability and its critical role in the use of telehealth in pandemic and other situations. In the US, 911 led to a major reform of the banking industry and the immediate adoption of automated processes for reading and processing of bank checks. Can coronavirus lead to a similar change in the healthcare industry and catalyze the widespread adoption of telehealth practices? What is the role of computer science departments and other departments at universities and what are the critical success factors to attain a better world? Examples of successful and unsuccessful strategies from US (Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, and California) and foreign countries will be used.

Bio:
Dr. Amar Gupta has spent most of his career fostering innovative technologies and processes, and then helping with their deployment on a global basis. He worked earlier at MIT as Principal Research Scientist and Senior Research Scientist. Then he moved from Boston to serve as Endowed and Tenured Professor at two universities. At the first university, he held several concurrent appointments including Professor of Computer Science, Professor of Public Health, and Professor of Law. At the second one, he served concurrently as Dean of Computer Science and Information Systems. In 2015, he rejoined MIT initially as Visiting Professor. Dr. Gupta was a founding Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Internet Technology and an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. He has published over 70 papers with the largest subset in CS journals. Dr. Gupta has served as Advisor to World Health Organization and other leading international and national organizations, as well as major corporations. At MIT, he developed and taught the course Telehealth and Telemedicine for Global Health; it was co-listed as 6.884 in Spring of 2018 and its details are available at the MIT Stellar site. More details about Dr. Gupta and his activities are available at: news.mit.edu/2018/removing-health-care-barriers-and-boundaries-amar-gupta-telemedicine-0522