This study proposes a unifying framework for m-Health video communication systems that provides for the joint optimization of video quality, bitrate demands, and encoding time. The framework is video modality and infrastructure independent and facilitates adaptation to the best available encoding mode that satisfies underlying technology and application imposed constraints. The scalability of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated using new HEVC encoding profiles and realistic modelling of 802.11x wireless infrastructure for emergency scenery and response videos. Extensive experimentation shows that a jointly optimal solution in the encoding time, bitrate, and video quality space is feasible.