Verizon has unveiled a new telehealth service that allows healthcare providers to “see patients” through video consultations.

Verizon Business, a unit of Basking Ridge, N.J.-based Verizon Communications, has teamed up with San Jose Calif.-based Cisco to deliver the new service, which offers integrated audio, visual and video communication.

Verizon officials say the new offering, Telhealth Collaboration Services, allows healthcare providers to remotely consult with patients and other providers in real-time, allowing them to provide increased accessibility to specialty services, control costs of patient-provider encounters and more closely monitor patient health.

The service will also provide continuing medical education and training opportunities to medical professionals.

"Healthcare providers increasingly are tapping the power of IT, and our telehealth solutions offer an effective way to meet a wide range of challenges, including the expansion of access to care, speeding diagnoses and driving efficiency," said Rajeev Kapoor, global managing director of Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions, the company's recently formed practice group.

According to experts, telehealth is gaining popularity in North America. Datamonitor, a provider of online database and analysis services, forecasts that annual spending on telehealth hardware, software and related services will nearly triple over the next three years, from the current $2.4 billion to $6.1 billion in 2012.

"These new IT capabilities will help hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices modernize the delivery of healthcare – a critical need throughout the U.S. healthcare system today," said Kapoor.