Patent ID: 8468239

Claim:
One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to: maintain, at a first health presence unit at a first physical location, a list of a plurality of health devices that may couple to the first health presence unit at the first physical location, the list storing a plurality of attributes associated with each health device; monitor a first current status of a communication link coupling the first health-presence unit at the first physical location to a second health-presence unit at a second physical location remote from the first physical location for a remote health-service session, the remote health-service session comprising a health-service provider at the second physical location providing a health service to a patient at the first physical location, the first current status relating to a current capability of the communication link to communicate commands or data between the first and second health-presence units to support reliable use by the health-service provider of a particular health device of the first health-presence unit on the patient during the health-service session; monitor a second current status of the particular health device of the first health-presence unit, the second current status relating to a current capability of the particular health device, the current capability of the particular health device comprising a condition of the particular health device and whether the particular health device is functioning correctly so as to be reliably used by the health-service provider on the patient during the health-service session; communicate data indicating the first current status and the second current status to the second health-presence unit for presentation to the health-service provider to facilitate assessment by the health-service provider of a usefulness of the particular health device to the health-service provider during the health-service session in light of the first or second current status; detect coupling of a new health device to the first health-presence unit; determine, from the new health device, one or more attributes of the new health device; store the one or more attributes of the new health device in the list of the plurality of health devices stored at the first health presence unit; and transmit the one or more attributes to a management unit data.