Uses and benefits of telemedicine

Summary. The true benefits of telemedicine are yet to be realized. The reasons are linked to business, economic and operational issues, not technology application. Telemedicine is an application of specific technologies designed to fill a health care delivery need, while expanding the geographic footprint of the overall delivery systems. It offers the opportunity for competitive advantage in a dynamic industry through improved quality, expanded care delivery and reduced cost. Telemedicine's true impact on the care delivery process will be fully realized once these opportunities have been optimized within a health care system.     

Telemedicine framework and applications in dermatology and ophthalmology

Medicine has to balance between the advantages and costs of new technology. As the significance of technical aids has increased, medicine has become more tightly bound to technology. Telemedicine is one of the fastest developing fields, as its development is connected to the development of telecommunication and information technology. Technology sets the ultimate restrictions to telemedicine. However, most challenges are nontechnical. Fast development makes it difficult to perform generalizable studies on the field, and the lack of practical, applicable standardization hinders telemedical system design. The cost of technology is quickly falling compared with the cost of human labour. Because of these factors the efficient use of telemedicine requires strategic decisions at the level of the organization as well as more research concerning the effects of telemedicine on medical practice. This article describes the telemedical frame of reference by using dermatology and ophthalmology as examples.     

Telemedicine framework and applications in dermatology and ophthalmology

Medicine has to balance between the advantages and costs of new technology. As the significance of technical aids has increased, medicine has become more tightly bound to technology. Telemedicine is one of the fastest developing fields, as its development is connected to the development of telecommunication and information technology. Technology sets the ultimate restrictions to telemedicine. However, most challenges are nontechnical. Fast development makes it difficult to perform generalizable studies on the field, and the lack of practical, applicable standardization hinders telemedical system design. The cost of technology is quickly falling compared with the cost of human labour. Because of these factors the efficient use of telemedicine requires strategic decisions at the level of the organization as well as more research concerning the effects of telemedicine on medical practice. This article describes the telemedical frame of reference by using dermatology and ophthalmology as examples.     

Telemedicine: a new dimension in the practice of medicine.

Telemedicine has drawn increasing attention as one of the emerging service delivery vehicles running on the information highway. Until recently, the adoption of telemedicine has been discouraged by the cost of telecommunications and equipment and by the lack of infrastructure, standards, and evidence of cost-effectiveness and cultural acceptance. Although there have been attempts to reduce costs by making use of computer communication networks, they were technically limited by slow network speed and the lack of real-time audio/video compression technology. Ongoing technologic advances in telecommunications, imaging, multimedia computers, and information systems are making interactive telemedicine increasingly possible as high-speed video, voice, and data services are brought to large segments of the general population. The current synergy between health reform initiatives, which are redefining how health care services are accessed and delivered, and advances in technologies that support telemedicine has resulted in a proliferation of telemedicine projects. However, there is still no proof that telemedicine is necessarily cost-effective for a broad set of applications. Each prospective application requires its own business case analysis. Within the current environment, the development of a telemedicine strategy should be based on a sound knowledge of the current and future potential of telemedicine to improve health care access and quality while containing and possibly reducing health care costs.     

Internet technologies and requirements for telemedicine

Summary. Internet technologies are briefly introduced and those applicable for telemedicine are reviewed. Multicast internet technologies are described. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Telemedicine Space-bridge to Russia' project is described and used to derive requirements for internet telemedicine. Telemedicine privacy and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements are described.     

A case study of the use of telemedicine by advanced practice nurses in rural Missouri

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine aims to increase access to health care through the use of technology, but its impact on rural health care has had limited study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of newly implemented telemedicine systems on rural practice and patient care in the Missouri Telemedicine Network. METHOD: Telemedicine equipment and hook-ups were provided to satellite clinics and nonaffiliated clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, and health departments in three rural counties. Qualitative research methods were used to elicit data and develop a case study report of the experience of the rural nurse practitioner's use of telemedicine technology. Results were then compared with those of three other counties without telemedicine technology. RESULTS: Advanced practice nurses reported professional development and connectedness with telemedicine capability. Those with telemedicine access reported both current and potential applications of technology to practice. Both formal and informal learning opportunities were cited. Those without telemedicine access viewed telemedicine as potentially supportive of enhanced patient care and professional satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study provides support for the role of telemedicine in augmenting the role of the advanced practice nurse in a variety of rural settings.     

Guidelines for the planning and implementation of telemedical applications

Before a telemedical application can be implemented in practice, various technical, organisational, and legal questions have to be solved. The answers to these questions are, however, in most cases not very obvious. Telemedicine guidelines which could provide a path to follow currently exist only for selected medical fields and are frequently customized for particular medical and technical scenarios. The use of existing telemedicine guidelines in Austrian health care is further complicated by the fact that most of them are based on foreign legal systems. This paper therefore aims to develop general telemedicine guidelines which are appropriate for all application areas of telemedicine in Austrian health care. From nine existing telemedicine guidelines for individual medical fields, two generally applicable guidelines were derived. The corresponding abstraction process was based on a categorization of telemedical applications, which is oriented on the communication partners involved. The derived, general guidelines address seven typical problem domains in the practical application of a telemedical application. As opposed to the existing guidelines, they (1) are independent of special medical fields and are therefore appropriate for all application areas of telemedicine -- also in medical fields where no specific guidelines have existed before; (2) are adapted to the Austrian legal system; (3) provide additional insight for medical fields where specific guidelines have already existed, as they can benefit from recommendations of other medical fields where equivalent telemedical applications are employed.     

A review of telemedicine in accident and emergency: the story so far

Recent developments in information and communications technology have the potential to revolutionise health care. This has been recognised at government level, and plays a significant part in the new information strategy for the NHS "Information For Health". Telemedicine (literally, medicine at a distance) is one of the most successful techniques in this rapidly expanding field, and in preliminary studies has proved to be both successful and popular with patients and health care professionals. In the UK telemedicine has been mainly applied to two major areas of accident and emergency (A&E) practice. These are the transmission of computed tomography scans for urgent neurosurgical opinion and the ongoing support of minor injuries units. The latter also involves transmission and interpretation of radiographs, usually peripheral limb films.

Telemedicine is not a medical sub-specialty in itself, but a facilitator of all medical and surgical specialties. While recent modernisation initiatives have permitted A&E departments to purchase a range of telemedical equipment, overall progress is hampered by a lack of large or scientifically rigorous studies, and a complete absence of data on the economic implications of this new technique. This review introduces A&E telemedicine in terms that avoid jargon and complex technical details. After a brief consideration of the origins of the subject, attention is given to recent publications relating to minor injuries support and A&E teleradiology. The technical and clinical feasibility of A&E telemedicine are demonstrated, and a case is made for the transmission and interpretation of minor injuries radiographs using a relatively simple and inexpensive system, supported by timely radiological reporting. After a brief study of various legal and ethical issues, the likely developments of the future are discussed.

     

Applying research evidence to optimize telehomecare

Telemedicine is the use of technology to provide healthcare over a distance. Telehomecare, a form of telemedicine based in the patient's home, is a communication and clinical information system that enables the interaction of voice, video, and health-related data using ordinary telephone lines. Most home care agencies are adopting telehomecare to assist with the care of the growing population of chronically ill adults. This article presents a summary and critique of the published empirical evidence about the effects of telehomecare on older adult patients with chronic illness. The knowledge gained will be applied in a discussion regarding telehomecare optimization and areas for future research. The referenced literature in PubMed, MEDLINE, CDSR, ACP Journal Club, DARE, CCTR, and CINAHL databases was searched for the years 1995-2005 using the keywords "telehomecare" and "telemedicine," and limited to primary research and studies in English. Approximately 40 articles were reviewed. Articles were selected if telehealth technology with peripheral medical devices was used to deliver home care for adult patients with chronic illness. Studies where the intervention consisted of only telephone calls or did not involve video or in-person nurse contact in the home were excluded. Nineteen studies described the effects of telehomecare on adult patients, chronic illness outcomes, providers, and costs of care. Patients and providers were accepting of the technology and it appears to have positive effects on chronic illness outcomes such as self-management, rehospitalizations, and length of stay. Overall, due to savings from healthcare utilization and travel, telehomecare appears to reduce healthcare costs. Generally, studies have small sample sizes with diverse types and doses of telehomecare intervention for a select few chronic illnesses; most commonly heart failure. Very few published studies have explored the cost or quality implications since the change in home care reimbursement to prospective payment. Further research is needed to clarify how telehomecare can be used to maximize its benefits among diverse adult chronic illness populations.     

Use of telemedicine in chronic pain consultation: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES: Telemedicine has been used extensively in various settings, including monitoring patient treatment response and counseling. However, there are few data on the application of telemedicine to chronic pain patients. The present study was the first pilot project to determine whether telemedicine technology for chronic pain consultation was feasible, cost-saving, and satisfactory to patients and pain physicians. METHODS: A prospective pilot study was conducted on chronic pain patients requiring follow-up consultations using telemedicine technology. Patients were interviewed by phone following the consultation. RESULTS: Eleven telemedicine anesthesia consultations involving eight patients (age 42+/-9 years; six men, two women) were performed. All were follow-up consultations. The average distance from patients' home to the clinic was 314+/-170 km. The reasons for consultation were for update of patient progress (10/11), medication change (6/11), and counseling (3/11). The time to complete the consultation was 24.5+/-9.5 minutes. The data for the time and the cost that the patient spent on the consultation are presented as median and 25% to 75% interquartile range. Patients having telemedicine consultations spent 0.9 hours (0.83-1) and Canadian dollar 3 (dollar 2-4) versus an estimate of 8 hours (6-8) and Canadian dollar 80 (dollar 46-260) for a conventional consultation (both P<0.005). Telemedicine consultation was found to be highly satisfactory to the patient and the consulting and attending anesthesiologists. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study indicates that telemedicine follow-up consultations for chronic pain patients are feasible and cost-saving. Patients and anesthesiologists were highly satisfied with telemedicine consultation. Patients reported a significant saving in time and cost compared with a conventional consultation.     

Telemedicine follow-up of burns: lessons learned from the first thousand visits

Telemedicine is an evolving technology that is used for health education, health care administration, and health care distribution. The potential benefits of telemedicine include a decrease in travel expenses, improved continuity of care, and increased access to specialized consultants, thus meeting the needs of patients, practitioners, and communities. Telemedicine has many evolving applications, including improved access to health care in medically underserved and rural areas. Regions Burn Center assessed the efficacy and efficiency of burn visits via telemedicine and identified the barriers and benefits specific to burn care. Information regarding travel costs and financial data were evaluated from a total of 1000 burn follow-up visits with 294 patients via telemedicine during a 5-year interval. Our results indicate that telemedicine burn visits are a cost-effective clinical alternative for the patient. However, telemedicine can be a financial burden to health care systems and inefficient for health care providers.     

Transition to telemedicine and its impact on missed appointments in community-based clinics

Background and objectiveThe Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act led to the rapid implementation of telemedicine across health care office settings. Whether this transition to telemedicine has any impact on missed appointments is yet to be determined. This study examined the relationship between telemedicine usage and missed appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodThis retrospective study used appointment-level data from 55 Federally Qualified Health Centre clinics in Texas between March and November 2020. To account for the nested data structure of repeated appointments within each patient, a mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression model was used to examine associations between telemedicine use and missed appointments, adjusting for patient sociodemographic characteristics, geographic classification, past medical history, and clinic characteristics. The independent variable was having a telemedicine appointment, defined as an audiovisual consultation started and finalized via a telemedicine platform. The outcome of interest was having a missed appointment (yes/no) after a scheduled and confirmed medical appointment. Results from this initial model were stratified by appointment type (in-person vs. telemedicine).ResultsThe analytic sample included 278,171 appointments for 85,413 unique patients. The overall missed appointment rate was 18%, and 25% of all appointments were telemedicine appointments. Compared to in-person visits, telemedicine visits were less likely to result in a missed appointment (OR = 0.87, p < .001). Compared to Whites, Asians were less likely to have a missed appointment (OR = 0.82, p < .001) while African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians were all significantly more likely to have missed appointments (OR = 1.61, p < .001; OR = 1.19, p = .01; OR = 1.22, p < .01, respectively). Those accessing mental health services (OR = 1.57 for in-person and 0.78 for telemedicine) and living in metropolitan areas (OR = 1.15 for in-person and 0.82 for telemedicine) were more likely to miss in-person appointments but less likely to miss telemedicine appointments. Patients with frequent medical visits or those living with chronic diseases were more likely to miss in-person appointments but less likely to miss telemedicine appointments.ConclusionsTelemedicine is strongly associated with fewer missed appointments. Although our findings suggest a residual lag in minority populations, specific patient populations, including those with frequent prior visits or chronic conditions, those seeking mental health services, and those living in metropolitan areas were less likely to miss telemedicine appointments than in-person visits. These findings highlight how telemedicine can enable effective and accessible care by reducing missed healthcare appointments.

KEY MESSAGES

• Telemedicine was associated with 13% lower odds of missed appointments.
• Patients with frequent medical visits or those living with chronic diseases were less likely to miss telemedicine appointments but more likely to miss in-person appointments.
• Patients seeking mental health services were less likely to miss telemedicine appointments but more likely to miss in-person appointments.
• Similarly, those living in metropolitan areas were less likely to miss telemedicine appointments but more likely to miss in-person appointments.

     

Parent Experience and Cost Savings Associated With a Novel Tele-physiatry Program for Children Living in Rural and Underserved Communities

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate parent and therapist experience and cost savings from the payer perspective associated with a novel tele-physiatry program for children living in rural and underserved communities.DesignWe designed a noninferiority, cluster-randomized crossover study at 4 school-based clinics to evaluate parent experience and perceived quality of care between a telemedicine-based approach in which the physiatrist conducts the visit remotely with an in-person therapist and a traditional in-person physiatrist clinic.SettingFour school-based clinics in Northern California.ParticipantsA total of 268 encounters (124 telemedicine and 144 in-person) were completed by 200 unique patients (N=200).InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresParent and therapist experience scores.ResultsFor parents and therapists, experience and perceived quality of care were high with no significant differences between telemedicine and in-person encounters. For parents whose children received a telemedicine encounter, 40 (54.8%) reported no preference for their child's subsequent encounter, 21 (28.8%) preferred a physiatrist telemedicine visit, and 12 (16.4%) preferred a physiatrist in-person visit. From the payer perspective, costs were $100 higher for in-person clinics owing to physician mileage reimbursement.ConclusionsWe found that school-based tele-physiatry for children with special health care needs is not inferior to in-person encounters with regard to parent and provider experience and perceived quality of care. Tele-physiatry was also associated with an average cost savings of $100 per clinic to the payer.     

A review of telemedicine in accident and emergency: the story so far

Recent developments in information and communications technology have the potential to revolutionise health care. This has been recognised at government level, and plays a significant part in the new information strategy for the NHS "Information For Health". Telemedicine (literally, medicine at a distance) is one of the most successful techniques in this rapidly expanding field, and in preliminary studies has proved to be both successful and popular with patients and health care professionals. In the UK telemedicine has been mainly applied to two major areas of accident and emergency (A&E) practice. These are the transmission of computed tomography scans for urgent neurosurgical opinion and the ongoing support of minor injuries units. The latter also involves transmission and interpretation of radiographs, usually peripheral limb films. Telemedicine is not a medical subspecialty in itself, but a facilitator of all medical and surgical specialties. While recent modernisation initiatives have permitted A&E departments to purchase a range of telemedical equipment, overall progress is hampered by a lack of large or scientifically rigorous studies, and a complete absence of data on the economic implications of this new technique. This review introduces A&E telemedicine in terms that avoid jargon and complex technical details. After a brief consideration of the origins of the subject, attention is given to recent publications relating to minor injuries support and A&E teleradiology. The technical and clinical feasibility of A&E telemedicine are demonstrated, and a case is made for the transmission and interpretation of minor injuries radiographs using a relatively simple and inexpensive system, supported by timely radiological reporting. After a brief study of various legal and ethical issues, the likely developments of the future are discussed.     

Use of change management theories in gaining acceptance of telemedicine technology

The success of telemedicine applications within health care begins with the process of implementing planned change. The attitudes of staff and their willingness to embrace new technology can be positively influenced in order to gain acceptance of new ways to perform tasks. Telemedicine applications have been designed to improve operational efficiency and obtain improved outcomes, but system designers and procurers are dependent upon the organization's leadership to effect attitudinal and behavioral changes that are essential for acceptance and usage of new technology.     

远程医疗技术在骨科领域的应用：Web of Science数据库文献学分析

背景：远程医疗在整形外科,烧伤科,皮肤科等科室应用很多,但远程医疗在骨科应用的效果还较少见报道。目的：利用SCI数据库文献检索和深度分析功能,对远程医疗在骨科领域应用的研究文献资料趋势进行多角度的探讨分析。方法：由第一作者以＂tele＊medicine（远程医疗）＂＂orthopaedic（骨科）＂为关键词检索SCI数据库相关文献,并将分析结果及资料导出,以文字和图表的形式进行统计和计量分析,描述其分布特征。纳入标准：经同行评议的远程医疗在骨科应用的已发表的研究原著类文章。排除标准：①与骨科相关性较差的单纯远程医疗的文章。②需采用手工检索和电话检索方式收集的文章。③未正式出版的文章。④在收录数量之内的综述,评论,勘误类文献。结果与结论：SCI数据库收录的文献中共检索到165篇远程医疗在骨科领域应用研究相关的文献,研究原著126篇位居首位,其中有6篇文献总被引次数超过50次,被确定为经典文献。在时间分布上,文献数量总体呈上升趋势,来源出版物呈分散分布,其中Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare（《远程医疗与远程护理杂志》）发表文献量39篇,占全部文献的30.95%。其次为Telemedicine and E Health（《远程医疗杂志与电子保健》）8篇。远程医疗在骨科的应用是21世纪以来最新的研究热点领域。通过文献计量学方法对来源于SCI数据库关于远程医疗在骨科领域研究的文献进行分析,可为了解该领域的概貌、现状,为研究者进一步确定该领域研究的热点难点提供有价值的参考。     

Telemedicine: The current state of the art

Summary. Telemedicine is a major new development and has great potential for improving health care delivery. There is a great deal of telemedicine activity around the world but as yet little scientific proof of its cost-effectiveness. Irrespective of this, certain telemedicine applications-for example teleradiology-have become major commercial successes, especially in the USA. Other applications, such as telepathology, remain the subject of research effort. Teleconsulting applications lie between these two extremes. Having become technically and economically feasible, telemedicine now deserves proper investigation.     

Telemedicine consultations with physicians in Swedish primary care: a mixed methods study of users’ experiences and care patterns

ObjectiveThe study aimed to explore users’ experiences and care patterns concerning telemedicine consultations with physicians in Swedish primary care from 2017 to 2019.Design and participants: A mixed methods study involving 26 qualitative interviews with users of telemedicine consultations from a national sample, complemented by a quantitative registry study of data from 10,400 users in a Swedish region.ResultsUsers mainly described telemedicine consultations as a positive experience and perceived that the service met their current health care needs. Users also valued high accessibility, timesaving, and the contribution to ecological sustainability. Users felt competent about choosing when to use telemedicine consultations, most commonly for less severe health care concerns. This was confirmed by the quantitative results; only a few users had other care contacts within physical primary care before, or after, the telemedicine consultation, attended acute care or phoned 1177 Health Care Guidance.ConclusionsThis study provides a rare account of users’ experiences of telemedicine consultations. Users expressed satisfaction with this up-to-date use of health care resources for them as individuals, the health care system, and the environment. Telemedicine consultations were perceived as efficient and safe according to users. In addition, the study shows a low degree of further physical contacts in primary care or in acute care related to the telemedicine consultations.

Key points

• Users have positive experiences of telemedicine consultations with physicians and experienced that the service had meet their actual needs for health care.
• Users were mainly satisfied with the service and highlighted the value of high accessibility.
• Users experienced that telemedicine consultants provided an alternative care service for mostly minor health problems, perceiving them to save time and resources for themselves, the health care system, and the environment.
• Most telemedicine consultations did not result in additional contacts with 1177 Health Care Guidance, physical visits to primary care, or acute health care.
• Telemedicine consultations with physicians were mainly used by persons aged 0–30 years and need to be further developed to suit other age groups.

     

Telemedicine and teleradiology technologies and applications

Summary. Telemedicine and teleradiology hold the key for improving future health care delivery. In this paper we first review current communication and computer technologies used in telemedicine and teleradiology. Five examples in teleradiology applications are given including hospital-integrated picture archiving and communication systems, tele-neuro-imaging, telemammography, university consortium teleradiology service, and teleradiology for second opinion. Parameters important to teleradiology applications like costs, image quality, system reliability, and turn around time are considered. Data security is discussed, including patient confidentiality and image authenticity-which will be a major issue in future teleradiology applications.     

Remote management of haemodialysis patients: Design and implementation of a telemedicine network

Summary. Telemedicine applications have been implemented in many clinical specialties. Some, like teleradiology, are now established applications with specific standards. Most applications still do not have protocols or standards, including telemedicine for haemodialysis. As part of Project Phoenix, a National Library of Medicine funded project set up to look at the access, cost and quality implications of telemedicine in a renal dialysis setting, we are establishing such protocols and standards. This paper discusses the design and implementation of a multimedia telemedicine application being undertakin by the Imaging Science and Information Systems (ISIS) Center of the Department of Radiology, the Clinical Economics Research Unit and the Division of Nephrology of the Department of Medicine at the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). The Renal Care Patient Monitoring (RCPM) network links GUMC, a remote outpatient dialysis clinic, and a nephrologist's home. The primary functions of the network are to provide telemedicine services to renal dialysis patients, to create, manage, transfer and use electronic health data, and to provide decision support and information services for physicians, nurses and health care workers. This paper shows that the first step in establishing standards and operational protocols for various clinical applications is to start with specific clinical needs assessment followed by an iterative process of reassessment and evaluation. This allows flexibility and a dynamic approach in the optimal system design.