MUNCIE, Ind.-Ball State University students will be the first in the nation to test interactive health care services in a pilot project offered by London-based Media Logic.

"We have the innovative world-first technology, and Ball State has the best facilities and academic drive to conduct proper research," said Glyn Radcliffe-Brine, executive vice president of Media Logic, which developed iSeeTV technology. "Ball State is innovative, forward thinking, and can provide us with the necessary technology to bring interactive TV into everyone's lives."

Health issues, according to advocacy groups and health foundations, are top of mind for most college students across the nation.

* One in three adults between 18 and 24 has no health insurance coverage, according to College Parents of America.

* Teens and young adults go online for health information more often than to download music, play games or chat, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The Center for Media Design, the university's new assessment and research facility funded by a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant, will take the lead on the pilot project, which will begin in March. The center's research mission is to pioneer digital media solutions for education, industry and communities.

"iSeeTV provides us a great opportunity to test a valuable health service for students, one that could be duplicated across the country," said Rodger Smith, the center's associate director for content, research, and development. Smith said the pilot could also provide a model for consumer connections for other industries via digital cable, DSL, VPNs, WiFi, broadband and narrowband Internet.

For student consumers, the issue is accessibility--especially when the Amelia T. Wood Health Center is closed. The interactive service will be offered from 4:30 to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

Dr. Kent W. Bullis, medical director of the health center, said about 25,000 students a year are treated for everything from coughs and colds to stress and strains. "Having to wait is the biggest complaint of students," he said, though the majority of students wait less than 30 minutes.

"When you're sick, every minute ticks by slowly," Bullis said. "We hope to provide good quality information and after-hours access to a registered nurse. There are no plans to charge students and this will actually save them visits."

The research pilot will allow 4,000 Ball State students to have reassuring and confidential conversations with a health professional, conducted discreetly with a one-way Web cam, PC, and phone. The patient can see the nurse, but the nurse can't see the patient. The connection offers confidentiality to students, who may be less inclined to seek out health services because of embarrassment or lack of confidence.

Instead of relying on questionable Internet information, on-campus students will have access to a health professional in "real time." The nurse will not diagnose a student's illness, but provide guidance as to whether a patient should make an appointment for immediate attention and services.

Smith, who is spearheading the project for the university's new research and assessment center, said he expects most students will ask preliminary questions about general health care issues. Students will also have access to streaming video, graphics and text directed to them by the nurse after a preliminary interview.

The technology proved successful last year in England, where more than 50,000 households were invited to test interactive health services in a pilot with the National Health Service called "Living Health." The NHS pilot gave patients immediate access to programming with medical advice, including 21,000 pages of accredited information. A video signal, unique to each viewer, was delivered directly to the consumer's TV.

"Living Health" also was voted "Best Interactive TV Service" at the International Electronic MultiMedia Awards in 2001.

"Independent research and actual pilots in England show that customers love to use it, and repeatedly," Radcliffe-Brine said. "For Indiana, this will be a real first and could be a service provided to many businesses trying to find a new way to communicate with customers."

By fall, off-campus students at the state's third-largest public university will also have access to these first-time interactive health services. Dr. Bullis said students would be notified of the upcoming interactive service by e-mails.
 

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Kyle Elyse Niederpruem at 317-509-4952 (cell), or kyle@hirons.com.)