Cruise liner to offer tele-medicine at sea

A leading ocean going fleet MSC Cruises has become the first cruise line to offer guests a 24/7 pediatric tele-medicine service on board, through a partnership with the Giannina Gaslini Institute, in Genoa, Italy, a world-class centre of excellence in pediatric medicine.

A statement from the company said that MSC Cruises will install new technology across its entire fleet to enable ship-to-shore care of children with onshore support from specialists at the Gaslini Institute.

The new service will be operational as from September 1, 2014, in its fleet-wide. MSC Cruises' on board doctors will be able to consult specialist pediatricians at any time to seek a second opinion or carry out procedures such as remote diagnosis, radiology and monitoring.

''No other cruise company in the world provides such a service, which will bring peace of mind to the thousands of families that take cruise vacations every year,'' the statement added.

The project was announced in Genoa by Chief Executive of MSC Cruises, Gianni Onorato, the Director General of the Giannina Gaslini Institute, Paul Petralia and the President of the Liguria Region, Claudio Burlando.

Mr Onorato said MSC Cruises is a family-owned company and it strongly believes in caring for the health and safety of guests on board, with particular attention to younger travelers, who can require help and treatment quite different from other age groups.

"We're really excited about this collaboration, which is particularly adapted to our family cruises, no matter where in the world," he stated.

Onorato noted that Pediatric telemedicine is an addition to other existing services on the firm's ships, such as teleradiology and teleconsultation, for a cruise vacation where we can respond to any need.

Director General of Gaslini Paolo Petralia said expertise of its specialists is being made available beyond the walls of the institute.