Moroccan hospital to be connected to 16-hospital mediterranean web

A Moroccan hospital will be one of 16 Mediterranean hospitals, to be interconnected through satellite internet for data and knowledge trade between doctors and better treatment of specific diseases and remote medical assistance for patients.

The project, dubbed "Hemisphere," was presented to the press Thursday in Palermo, Sicily, after a meeting of delegations from the 10 concerned countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Italy, Belgium, Germany, France, Turkey and Cyprus).

The US$ 2.3 million-worth "Hemisphere" is financed by the European Union, part of the "Eumedis" initiative.

The network will allow real-time consultations between the doctors of the 16 hospitals, and the set up of a medical data bank.

The hospitals will also set up a virtual medicine university to enable specialists to follow high level conferences.

The network's data will be available not only for doctors of the 16 hospitals, but also for patients who move from a member country to another.