Because so many HIV-infected patients are medically stable, they must maintain a normal social and work life, which may require travel, business meetings and other important scheduled events. Frequent visits to the hospital are a major investment of time and money for the patients. The virtual system allows the patient to go to the medical center only for a physical examination and reduces the number of visits to the doctor from six or eight in the current system to three or four, the hospital stated.

"This program allows patients to continue their treatment without altering their routine. Medication is sent to their home, or other locations specified by the patient," the hospital stated. "Telemedicine is emerging as a service appropriate for this treatment, and Hospital VIHrtual as a safe and effective tool. This system, with variations, could become a model for the control of chronic stable patients suffering other diseases."

Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at or subscribe to . His e-mail address is .

in Computerworld's Health Care Topic Center.