Journal of telemedicine and telecare
-
We investigated whether head CT images captured using a mobile phone would be of sufficient quality for neurosurgeons at a level 1 trauma centre to make decisions about whether to transfer patients from referring hospitals. All patients who had been transferred from outside facilities with reported intracranial pathology during 2008 were identified. Two emergency medicine physicians selected 1-3 images from the hospital archive that best represented the pathology described by the radiologist and the medical record. ⋯ The availability of the images significantly altered the transfer decision by A in 25 cases (28%) (P = 0.024) and by B in 28 cases (32%) (P < 0.001). The level of agreement between the two neurosurgeons significantly increased from 53% (kappa = 0.11) to 75% (kappa = 0.47) (P < 0.001). Mobile-phone images of CT scans appear to provide adequate images for triaging patients and helping with transfer decisions of neurosurgical cases.
-
The terms 'telemedicine', 'telehealth' and 'e-health' are often used interchangeably. We examined the occurrence of these terms in the Scopus database. A total of 11,644 documents contained one of the three terms in the title or abstract. ⋯ Publication rates for telemedicine or telehealth or e-health were compared with two other relatively new fields of study: Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) and Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). Publications concerning HAART seem to have reached a peak and are now declining, but those with the three key terms and those concerning MIS are both growing. The variation in the level of adoption for the three terms suggests ambiguity in their definition and a lack of clarity in the concepts they refer to.
-
Seven long-running telemedicine networks were surveyed. The networks provided humanitarian services (clinical and educational) in developing countries, and had been in operation for periods of 5-15 years. The number of experts serving each network ranged from 15 to 513. ⋯ There was a dearth of information about clinical and cost-effectiveness. Nevertheless, the services were widely appreciated by referring doctors, considered to be clinically useful, and there were indications that clinical outcomes for telemedicine patients were often improved. Despite a lack of formal evidence, the present study suggests that telemedicine can provide clinically useful services in developing countries.
-
We conducted a retrospective, observational study of patient outcomes in two intensive care units in the same hospital. The surgical ICU (SICU) implemented telemedicine and electronic medical records, while the medical ICU (MICU) did not. Medical charts were reviewed for a one-year period before telemedicine and a one-year period afterwards. ⋯ There was no change in adjusted outcome variables in the MICU patients. Implementation of telemedicine and electronic records in the surgical ICU was associated with a profound reduction in severity-adjusted ICU length of stay, ICU mortality, and hospital mortality. However, it is not possible to conclude definitively that the observed associations seen in the SICU were due to the intervention.
-
We evaluated the use of telehealth for patients who had suffered a cardiac or respiratory arrest, and were medically coordinated from the Queensland coordination hub at Townsville. We conducted a review of all cardiac or respiratory arrest cases where teleheath had been used prior to aeromedical retrieval. The doctors involved in the cases completed an evaluation form about the use of telehealth during the resuscitation. ⋯ While the telehealth equipment was easy to use, minor audio problems reinforce the need for systems to be wholly reliable. A set of guidelines to aid future telehealth assisted resuscitation was produced. The present study suggests that telehealth use is beneficial during active resuscitation efforts.