Med TV Digital Launch
30th April 2007: Gabriella Larkin congratulates John Marsden, General Manager of Te Puna Hauora Health Centre in Northcote on Auckland's North Shore, on being the first of many primary care waiting rooms to present the Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) MedTV service to its patients and visitors. The pioneering narrowcast waiting room network is now leading the way with its ground-breaking use of digital signage technology. The system is installed at no cost to the clinic and is funded by sponsorship and approved advertising.
 | The waiting room at the Te Puna Hauora in Northcote is the first to show the new digital service from MedTV. The magazine-style programme runs for a full day without repetition, covering a range of health and wellness topics.
| | Child health is one of the main editorial strands. |
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Starting as a VHS/DVD based one-hour programme in 2002, MedTV has built an enviable reputation for the quality and integrity of its programme. "We have always had the transient waiting room audience in mind," says Gabriella Larkin, who founded MedTV. "As a breast cancer patient I became all too familiar with long waits and sparse reading material." Putting her extensive television and video production experience to use, Gabriella made a pilot show that was formally evaluated by the Ministry of Health in 2002. The magazine style programming, using mini documentaries, interviews and community news has been well received by patients and health professionals alike. As the network expanded, the library of health stories grew and the production facilities were strengthened. The DVD programme already reaches some 230,000 people a month at 60 clinics.  | | Gabriella Larkin is MedTV's on-screen presenter. She has been producing the waiting room channel since 2002. |
Now, after more than 40 monthly programmes, MedTV is implementing its Internet based digital service, which extends programming across a full day. Each screen can also deliver content and messages specific to its location and audience. More than 160 waiting rooms are planned in the first year. "This is true narrowcasting" says Gabriella, "and it gives us the means to add relevance and value to patient and staff communication." Each screen can be instructed to carry its own messages and content at any time of every day. 
| | MedTV helps to de-mystify medical technology. |
It is not only patients and waiting room visitors who will benefit. The same system can be used to provide information and training to administrative and professional staff. And there is more to the MedTV Digital. In a unique blend of technologies, the system includes the use of touch screen computers to enhance and complement the MEDTV channel. Direct experience of a very successful project for the National Screening Unit is the starting point for this health promotion resource. 
| | Self-service interactive information - a powerful health promotion tool. |
"The National Health Strategy provides the backdrop for our editorial structure. We are also dedicated to reflecting current thinking and best practice in professional health promotion, which goes way beyond simple message delivery. Our stories are about real people and health in the community. The 'self service' nature of the touch screen we know to be very empowering - people interact with the content - more than that, they can get quickly to the information that matters to them personally."
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