Generic data modeling for home telemonitoring of chronically ill patients.
(17/1282)
Management of many types of chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma relies heavily on patients' self-monitoring of their disease conditions. In recent years, internet-based home telemonitoring systems that allow transmission of patient data to a central database and offer immediate access to the data by the care providers have become available. However, these systems often work with only one or a few types of medical devices and thus are limited in the types of diseases they can monitor. For example, a system designed to collect spirometry data from asthmatic patients cannot be easily adapted to collect blood glucose data from diabetic patients. This is because different medical devices produce different types of data and the existing telemonitoring systems are generally built around a proprietary data schema specific for the device used. In this paper, we describe a generic data schema for a telemonitoring system that is applicable to different types of medical devices and different diseases, and show an implementation of the schema in a relational database suitable for a variety of telemonitoring activities. (+info)
Remote clinical assessment of gastrointestinal endoscopy (tele-endoscopy): an initial experience.
(18/1282)
BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy is an effective tool to screen for cancers of the digestive tract. However, access to endoscopy is limited in many parts of South Carolina. This trial is a part of a prospective multi-part study for remote cancer screening in coastal South Carolina. This pilot study was to evaluate the quality of tele-endoscopy for cancer screening. METHODS: 10 patients scheduled for endoscopic procedures were observed simultaneously by the endoscopist and a remote observer connected over a 512 kbps ISDN line. Findings by both were compared for concordance on malignant or premalignant lesions. RESULTS: The image quality was adequate to support remote diagnosis of GI cancer and abnormal lesions by an experienced observer. However, assessment of the esophagogastric junction for Barrett's esophagus was equivocal. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our tele-endoscopy setup shows great promise for remote supervision or observation of endoscopic procedures done by nurse endoscopists. Tele-endoscopy is both adequate and feasible for diagnosis of most gastrointestinal lesions. Subtle lesions still may be missed in our current setup. However, improvements are being made in our setup to address the problem with resolution prior to further evaluation. (+info)
Regional and international integrated telemedicine network for organ transplant (HC 4028 & IN 4028 European Commission DGXIII).
(19/1282)
A substantial portion of future medical practice will depend greatly on improved collaboration between the providers throughout the healthcare sector, and effective sharing of data and expertise by different healthcare professionals. In organ transplant it is a rule, donor organs are matched to recipients via national or multinational organ-sharing organizations. Only through close co-operation between transplant surgeons, immunologists, nephrologists, pathologists, radiologists and other physicians could one increase the efficiency of organ transplantation. Information technology (IT) has become an inevitable and inherent part of transplantation medicine. The RETRANSPLANT project interfaces and integrates IT from the European Union Fourth Framework projects to support the development of regional organ transplant information networks in Central Europe. (+info)
The use of information technology in improving medical performance. Part II. Physician-support tools.
(20/1282)
Increasing data from a few sites demonstrate that information technologies can improve physician decision making and clinical effectiveness. For example, computer-based physician order entry systems, automated laboratory alert systems, and artificial neural networks have demonstrated significant reductions in medical errors. In addition, Internet services to disseminate new knowledge and safety alerts to physicians more rationally and effectively are rapidly developing, and telemedicine to improve rural access to specialty services is undergoing substantial growth. However, even technologies demonstrated to yield beneficial effects have not yet achieved widespread adoption, though the pace of change appears to be increasing as the Internet takes hold. Scientific evaluation of many technologies is also lacking, and the dangers of some of these technologies may be underappreciated. Research on the effects of specific technologies should be a priority. Policies should be developed to press information technology companies, such as pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, to recognize the importance of clinical evaluation. Research could also analyze the characteristics of effective technologies and of physicians and organizations who implement these technologies effectively. (+info)
The impact of information technology on the practice of ophthalmology.
(21/1282)
Information technology has had a tremendous impact on the outlook of our professional lives. The Internet has revolutionised the speed of access to information with touch of a button. This article discusses the various aspects of information technology which are changing and enhancing our professional lives. It provides tips to enable the busy practising clinician to use the available resources effectively. Problems such as reliability of information on the web and how to assess the quality of such matter are also discussed. (+info)
Health services under the General Agreement on Trade in Services.
(22/1282)
The potential for trade in health services has expanded rapidly in recent decades. More efficient communication systems have helped to reduce distance-related barriers to trade; rising incomes and enhanced information have increased the mobility of patients; and internal cost pressures have led various governments to consider possibilities for increased private participation. As yet, however, health services have played only a modest role in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It is possible that Members of the World Trade Organization have been discouraged from undertaking access commitments by the novelty of the Agreement, coordination problems between relevant agencies, widespread inexperience in concepts of services trade, a traditionally strong degree of government involvement in the health sector, and concerns about basic quality and social objectives. However, more than five years have passed since GATS entered into force, allowing hesitant administrations to familiarize themselves with its main elements and its operation in practice. The present paper is intended to contribute to this process. It provides an overview of the basic structure of GATS and of the patterns of current commitments in health services and of limitations frequently used in this context. The concluding section discusses possibilities of pursuing basic policy objectives in a more open environment and indicates issues that may have to be dealt with in current negotiations on services. (+info)
Randomised controlled trial of telemedicine for new neurological outpatient referrals.
(23/1282)
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that telemedicine for new patient referrals to neurological outpatients is as efficient and acceptable as conventional face to face consultation. METHODS: A randomised controlled trial between two groups: face to face (FF) and telemedicine (TM). This study was carried out between a neurological centre and outlying clinics at two distant hospitals linked by identical medium cost commercial interactive video conferencing equipment with ISDN lines transmitting information at 384 kbits/s. The same two neurologists carried out both arms of the study. Of the 168 patients who were suitable for the study, 86 were randomised into the telemedicine group and 82 into the face to face group. Outcome measures were (1) consultation process: (a) number of investigations; (b) number of drugs prescribed; (c) number of patient reviews and (2) patient satisfaction: (a) confidence in consultation; (b) technical aspects of consultation; (c) aspects surrounding confidentiality. Diagnostic categories were also measured to check equivalence between the groups: these were structural neurological, structural non-neurological, non-structural, and uncertain. RESULTS: Diagnostic categories were similar (p>0.5) between the two groups. Patients in the telemedicine group had significantly more investigations (p=0.001). There was no difference in the number of drugs prescribed (p>0.5). Patients were generally satisfied with both types of consultation process except for concerns about confidentiality and embarrassment in the telemedicine group (p=0.017 and p=0.005 respectively). CONCLUSION: Telemedicine for new neurological outpatients is possible and feasible but generates more investigations and is less well accepted than face to face examination. (+info)
A manifesto on telehealth and telemedicine.
(24/1282)
An evident contrast exists between the generally easy way medical doctors and administrators use the term "telemedicine" and the wide variety of significantly different technologic methods and devices necessary for correctly performing specific tasks in the field. Many misunderstandings could be avoided by agreeing on the types of services that telemedicine can provide, names for those services, and descriptions of what is included in the services. This manifesto lists representative services, with a proposed name for and description of each. (+info)