Blog - Peter Killcommons, MD - Weebly

What Medweb Brings to Remote Locations

10/23/2017

The founder and CEO of Medweb, Dr. Peter “Pete” Killcommons is a philanthropist who has traveled to remote villages around the world to administer medical advice and counseling. Dr. Peter Killcommons established Medweb to allow telemedicine services to reach these remote locations.

Medweb has been designed to provide modern imaging technology to remote areas with its patented medical image distribution program. The RIS/PACS modules integrate patient scheduling and registration with HIPAA-compliant storage and patient billing for a more seamless medical process. This helps medical personnel spend more time focusing on patient care.

Medweb’s telemedicine solutions allow physicians to consult with each other on a secured network and share uploaded images and findings. The system includes a comprehensive training program to teach physicians and medical personnel how to use the system efficiently, saving time and money for both medical staff and patients. Medical specialties covered include dermatology, ophthalmology, radiology, and radiology.

Conference Focuses on Telemedicine in Armenia

10/6/2017

Dr. Peter (Pete) Killcommons serves as president of Medweb, a leader in web-enabled telemedicine. In 2011, Dr. Killcommons shared his knowledge as keynote speaker for the First Armenian International Telemedicine Congress. His keynote address reviewed successes and challenges associated with implementing telemedicine technology in East Afghanistan. In addition, Dr. Peter Killcommons donated a Medweb telemedicine system to an Armenian telemedicine organization to encourage improvements in medical services for rural and underserved populations in Armenia.

At the conference, international experts discussed how information and communications technology is revolutionizing the field of medicine. More than 280 attendees from 20 countries came together for scientific and plenary sessions, round tables, panel discussions, and an educational track. In addition, attendees gained insights from noted leaders in telehealth and related disciplines through five keynote presentations.

Conference attendees included health care professionals, business executives, and government officials. Together, this group of experts discussed emerging telemedicine opportunities in Armenia and similar countries. The event was a key milestone in the evolution of health care information technology in Armenia.

Experimental Aircraft Association Membership Options

9/29/2017

Peter or Pete Killcommons is the founder and CEO of Medweb, a medical imaging and telemedicine company. As a volunteer pilot for disaster relief efforts, Peter Killcommons is also involved with the Experimental Aircraft Association.

With several options for membership, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) welcomes anyone who is a pilot or is interested in becoming one, a plane builder or restorer, or is simply interested in planes. Membership options include individual, family, lifetime, and student. There are also opportunities to join several community memberships such as Warbirds, Vintage Aircraft, or the International Aerobatic Club.

The individual and family memberships provide the same benefits, which include access to EEA’s Sport Aviation Magazine, discounted rates to aviation celebrations, local EEA chapters, and more. Student memberships are available free of charge for anyone between the ages of 8 and 18 who has completed a Young Eagles Flight with EEA. Lifetime members receive several personalized items such as a jacket, engraved plaque, I.D. card, and gold pin.

Advantages and Benefits of Telemedicine

9/28/2017

Dr. Peter “Pete” Killcommons is a medical doctor who is founder and CEO of MedWeb, a company that specializes in providing medical imaging, teleradiology, and telemedicine services. Due to his expertise in telemedicine, Dr. Peter Killcommons was invited as a keynote presenter at the First Armenian International Telemedicine Congress in October 2011.

The emergence of telemedicine has been brought about by the increasing number of technological advancements in the medical field. For example, telemedicine allows medical information to be exchanged across great distances through electronic communication. Even if the technology is already at least 40 years old, telemedicine continues to be a fast-growing field likely to be utilized on a much wider scale in coming decades.

There are a number of reasons why using telemedicine could be of advantage to patients. Foremost is its ability to connect patients with specialized services and relevant information that might otherwise by unavailable. The chance of miscommunication due to mediated communication is also mitigated, as the patient can talk directly to the specialist. During a telemedicine consultation, the specialist can also benefit from being able to assess a client personally, making diagnosis and treatment more accurate and effective.

WebMed’s Philanthropical Outreach

9/28/2017

In 1992, Peter Killcommons, MD, founded WebMed, a firm that develops web-enabled telemedicine devices, in San Francisco. Before the advent of telemedicine, patients whose diagnosis or treatment required the involvement of a specialist generally had to be transported to the specialist, often requiring a significant expenditure of time and money. Telemedicine, using high-tech communication and imaging capabilities to enable real-time, long-distance collaboration on patient diagnosis and treatment, provides a shortcut. A dramatic example is a surgeon being guided in real time by a specialist hundreds or thousands of miles away, facilitated by live streaming video of the surgical procedure. Dr. Peter Killcommons continues his leadership in the field of telemedicine today, working closely with the U.S. military to ensure that its medical staff has the most reliable telemedicine equipment.

WebMed is very active philanthropically in supplying telemedical devices to practitioners worldwide, especially to support disaster recovery efforts. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, WebMed provided several devices for use at Touro Hospital and aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort. In addition, it sent two servers and related WebMed equipment to the 240-bed Medishare tent hospital set up by the University of Miami at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the devastating 2010 earthquake.

The Balkan Telemedicine Seminar

9/28/2017

The CEO of the San Francisco-based medical imaging, teleradiology, and telemedicine company Medweb, Dr. Peter Killcommons is an industry expert and international philanthropist who travels the world to help and advise telemedicine initiatives in developing nations. In November of 2010, Dr. Pete Killcommons traveled to Podgorica, Montenegro, to lecture at the Fourth Intensive Balkan Telemedicine and e-Health Seminar.

Sponsored by the International Virtual e-Hospital, the Intensive Balkan Telemedicine and e-Health Seminar was designed to build a framework to support telemedicine and e-health technology systems in the Balkan region. It is further hoped that this framework will assist countries in the region as they strive to provide virtual educational and long-distance health care services to widely dispersed communities. In previous years, Balkan Telemedicine Seminars have taken place in Skopje, Macedonia; Tirana, Albania; and Prishtina, Kosovo. These events have served to broaden shared understanding of the enormous potential of telemedicine to transform the health care capabilities of the Balkan nations.

Telemedicine Explained, by Peter Killcommons, MD

9/28/2017

In October 2011, I had the privilege of addressing the First Armenian International Telemedicine Congress in Yerevan, Armenia. My lecture focused on the philanthropic work of my company, Medweb, in helping hospitals in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, develop networking technology.

What is telemedicine? This rapidly growing field has several applications, but what they have in common is delivery of medical information and services via electronic links. Research indicates that some 50 subspecialties benefit from telemedicine. One common use is emailing diagnostic data, such as ultrasound or MRI readings, to specialists, who interpret the results. Telemedicine also can include real-time remote patient consultations. Furthermore, certain devices allow remote patient monitoring to transmit vital signs to healthcare providers. For example, the Veterans Administration provides mobile devices that relay data from scales or blood pressure cuffs; this system lowers costs for treating patients who do not need nursing home care. Additionally, it can be used in place of home visits from nurses. Telemedicine also encompasses online continuing education or information platforms for medical professionals.

About the Author: Dr. Peter Killcommons is the chief executive officer and founder of Medweb, a firm specializing in the development of telemedicine devices and platforms. Dr. Kilcommons heads the company’s Telemedicine, Radiology, and Disaster Response departments.

Operation Smile, by Peter Killcommons, MD

9/28/2017

Operation Smile is an international charity organization that changes the lives of children with facial deformities in underdeveloped parts of the world. I have volunteered with Operation Smile, providing medical image transfer services for one of their clinics.

A facial cleft is a fairly common congenital deformity that can be surgically corrected during infancy. Unfortunately, many children are born with clefts in parts of the world where professional medical resources are scarce, and their families cannot afford corrective surgery. These children endure difficulty eating their food, speaking, and smiling. In many places, these children can also be treated as outcasts. Operation Smile provides these children with access to facial surgery so that they can smile, eat, and socialize with their friends and family. Operation Smile operates in over 60 countries, and has performed over 200,000 free surgeries to date.

About the Author: Dr. Peter Killcommons is a telemedicine expert and philanthropist. In addition to his work with Operation Smile, he has donated equipment and provided medical services in countries around the world, including Afghanistan and Armenia.

Armenian Association of Telemedicine Furthers eHealth Research

9/20/2017

Founder and CEO of Medweb, a platform for telemedicine, Peter (Pete) Killcommons, MD, served as a keynote speaker at the first Armenian Telemedicine Congress in October 2011. Dr. Peter Killcommons donated a Medweb system to the conference hosts to assist in further development of medical communication services in Armenia.

The Armenian Telemedicine Congress was hosted by the Armenian Association of Telemedicine (AATM). Through its eHealth Master Plan, AATM seeks to address the need for more communication technologies in health care systems. The strategic plan will enable the development of more efficient eHealth applications and services throughout Armenia.

AATM’s long-term plan involves research and analysis of the current state of Armenia’s health care sector. The master plan also proposes examining other experiences with eHealth throughout the international community and defining how eHealth will benefit or re-shape current practices in Armenia. Another important component of the plan is budgeting for various stages of development of an eHealth system.

About Telemedicine and the American Telemedicine Association

9/12/2017

Dr. Peter Killcommons founded Medweb, a medical imaging and telemedicine company, 21 years ago. He serves the company as chief executive officer and directs numerous divisions including telemedicine and disaster response. In October 2011, Dr. Pete Killcommons spoke at the First Armenian International Telemedicine Conference, where he espoused the benefits and difficulties of using telemedicine in Eastern Afghanistan. Dr. Peter Killcommons complements decades of hands-on experience in his field with memberships to professional organizations such as the American Telemedicine Association.

Founded in 1993, the American Telemedicine Association, or ATA, exists to champion the use of advanced telemedicine. Through various initiatives, ATA educates the public and governments on the boons of telemedicine, advocates research in the field, and develops policies. The organization aims to weave telemedicine into healthcare systems and bring about greater affordability and efficacy in the healthcare industry.

One of ATA's foremost goals is to define telemedicine for those unfamiliar with the discipline. Just like file transfers across the Internet take place between parties spread out hundreds or thousands of miles apart, telemedicine refers to transferring medical information using electronic tools. Those tools include email, video, smartphones, and other forms of wireless resources.