Journal of telemedicine and telecare
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A pilot accident and emergency teleconsulting service was established in Scotland. It was based at the accident and emergency department of the main hospital in Aberdeen. There were three peripheral sites in rural Grampian (Peterhead, Turriff and Huntly) and one in the Shetland Isles. ⋯ The majority of patients (89%) received treatment without transportation to the main centre in Aberdeen. The present study demonstrated that accident and emergency teleconsultations can be technically reliable, effective in reducing the number of patient transfers and acceptable to the referring clinicians. As a result, approximately 1.5 million has been made available by the government to develop a national system for Scotland.
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Videoconferencing has been used for continuing medical education (CME) in Nova Scotia since a pilot project to four communities in 1995. The Nova Scotia Telehealth Network was developed after the pilot project. Using the network, the videoconferenced CME programme expanded over the next few years until in, 2000-1, 66 programmes were broadcast to 38 sites. ⋯ However, several aspects could be improved. Faculty members still need encouragement to make visual aids legible by videoconference and to provide handouts. Also, there has been little upgrading of equipment over the past four years and some reduction in the reliability of connections.
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A rehabilitation outreach team created evidence-based and peer-reviewed educational modules using standard desktop presentation software. Eighteen modules on various topics in physical rehabilitation were published in several formats, including Web pages, directly from the presentation file, for the benefit of health-care providers in eastern and north-eastern Ontario. An online evaluation form could be completed by anyone visiting the Website; the people responsible for community rehabilitation services were asked to encourage their staff to complete the forms. ⋯ Thirty per cent of the participants had limited or no experience with online learning. In the evaluation, high ratings were given for satisfaction and usefulness. From an educator's perspective, multimedia content could be created and distributed without a substantial investment in equipment, software, training and publication time; this represents a 'write once, publish everywhere' approach.
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We have developed an Internet-based tool for remote realtime auscultation. The device was based on a commercially available electronic stethoscope and a PC which digitized and transmitted the signals. A voice and video channel were also available. ⋯ Video support improved the doctor s confidence that the stethoscope was being operated properly and greatly simplified the interaction. Moreover, it improved all participants subjective impression of the virtual meeting. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of performing remote auscultation sessions over the Internet.
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The current trend among many universities is to increase the number of courses available online. However, there are fundamental problems in transferring traditional education courses to virtual formats. Delivering current curricula in an online format does not assist in overcoming the negative effects on student motivation which are inherent in providing information passively. ⋯ Thirty distance-learning students undertook postgraduate courses in e-health delivered via the Internet (asynchronous communication). Data collected via online student surveys indicated that the PBL format was both flexible and interesting. PBL has the potential to increase the quality of the educational experience of students in online environments.