LG Unveils a New Solution for Video Calling in Patient Rooms

LG Business Solutions is releasing a new tool for integrators that allows them to configure the company’s healthcare TVs as a video calling system for patients.

The tool, LG Pro:Centric Connect, provides back office functionality that enables web RTC systems to connect to patients’ in-room TVs to remote family and friends.

In a statement, Gianni Restaino, engineering vice president for LG Business Solutions USA, said the new solution is designed for hospitals, medical centers and long-term care facilities. It essentially allows patients to use their hospital TVs – provided they’re LG’s Smart Hospital TVs – as a videoconferencing system.

The company’s announcement didn’t mention COVID-19, but patients being unable to communicate with friends and family aside from FaceTime or phone calls while they’re hospitalized with the virus has been an issue.

This could also help providers improve the quality of care and comfort of patients and also help keep remote healthcare professionals safe.

To use the new platform, integrators just need to update their application and add a compatible webcam to a webOS 4.0 Pro:Centric Smart Hospital TV.

Patients can use the in-room control devices, or family can use their own devices to call patients.

Then patients can do video calling using existing in-room control devices or family members can utilize their own personal mobile devices that run on Android, iOS, MacOS or Windows to reach out to patients.

According to LG Business Solutions USA, the system is secure and information is encrypted through the network. The integrator applications hosts the data that connects a patient with a specific room number to minimize the possibility of unauthorized users accessing the system.

Videoconferencing applications typically require a means to map people to an IP address and to revise these mappings as people go about their day, but that is generally outside of the expertise of most companies.

“Providing these essential back office functionalities with the Pro:Centric platform gives integrators access to a powerful video conferencing solution that can be easily integrated into their own applications,” Restaino says.

This article originally appeared on our sister site Commercial Integrator.

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