Telemedicine precepting (original) (raw)

Prerecorded telemedicine

Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 2005

In prerecorded telemedicine (also known as asynchronous or store-and-forward), the person sending the information and the person receiving it do not need to do so simultaneously; thus, viewing the information can be done at some later time. Prerecorded telemedicine is therefore not appropriate for emergency consultations. In prerecorded telemedicine systems, the following steps can be distinguished: (1) the acquisition of diagnostic information at the remote site; (2) its storage, which can be at either site, or at both; (3) its delivery to the expert site through an appropriate connection; and (4) its display at the expert site. The types of information transferred include audio, data and text, still images and moving images (i.e. video). An increasingly common way of doing prerecorded telemedicine is by email sent via the Internet. Although there are some problems associated with the Internet, its wide availability and low cost have encouraged its use. Examples where email has been used successfully include teleradiology, telecardiology, teledermatology and telepathology. In some situations prerecorded telemedicine is the only way to provide remote medical services, or the most cost-effective method. Clearly, there are also situations when prerecorded telemedicine is not an appropriate way to deliver health services, for example whenever the sender of the information is not qualified to sample the information acquired or the specialist receiving the information must manipulate it, during acquisition, in some way.

Medicolegal aspects of telepathology

Human Pathology, 2009

A pathologist may practice telepathology in another room from the original slide using the hospital intranet, he/she may practice it if a CD-ROM is reviewed with a "virtual histologic image" or digital slide. As pathology becomes increasingly subspecialized, and pathologists are progressively more engaged in practices situations where they may not be in a centralized laboratory location, use of telepathology technology may be increasingly common. We touch on select medicolegal and reimbursement issues in the practice of telepathology. Primary and secondary legal sources are reviewed, as well as primary medical references. Telepathology is an evolving area of telemedicine. Guidelines for primary opinion telepathology should be driven from best practices in conventional laboratory procedures and can enhance the practice of pathology. However, it should be undertaken with the understanding that the legal and regulatory environment involving such practices is evolving as well.

Narrative review of telemedicine consultation in medical practice

Patient Preference and Adherence, 2015

The use of telemedicine has grown across several medical fields, due to the increasing number of "e-patients". This narrative review gives an overview of the growing use of telemedicine in different medical specialties, showing how its use can improve medical care. A PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus search was performed using the following keywords: telemedicine, teleconsultation, telehealth, e-health, and e-medicine. Selected papers from 1996 to 2014 were chosen on the basis of their content (quality and novelty). Telemedicine has already been applied to different areas of medical practice, and it is as effective as face-to-face medical care, at least for the diagnosis and treatment of some pathological conditions. Telemedicine is time- and cost-effective for both patients and health care professionals, encouraging its use on a larger scale. Telemedicine provides specialist medical care to patients who have poor access to hospitals, and ensures continuity of care and optimal use of available health resources. The use of telemedicine opens new perspectives for patients seeking a medical second opinion for their pathology, since they can have remote access to medical resources that would otherwise require enormous costs and time.

Effect of telemedicine on patients' diagnosis and treatment

Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 2006

We conducted a post-consultation survey during 1998-2002 (n ¼ 412 consultations) in the Rural Hospital Telehealth Project run by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Changes in the patient's diagnosis and treatment plan as a result of the telemedicine session were assessed. There were 47 consultants, who conducted 2-82 consultations each. The teleconsultants established a diagnosis in 74 consultations. This was 26% of the 286 respondents. Of the 63 respondents for cases where there was a prior diagnosis and a change was applicable, 17 consultants (27%) reported that there was a change in the patient's diagnosis. The consultants established a patient treatment plan in 139 consultations. This was 52% of the 268 respondents. Of the 123 respondents for cases where there was a prior treatment plan and a change was applicable, 82 (67%) consultants reported a change in the treatment plan. The changes in diagnosis and management imply benefits for the rural population in Arkansas as a result of the use of telemedicine.

Telepathology for Patient Care: What Am I Getting Myself Into?

Advances in Anatomic Pathology, 2010

The vast advancements in telecommunications and converting medical information to a digital format have increased the number of applications within telemedicine. Telepathology, in simplest terms, is the practice of formally rendering a pathologic diagnosis based upon examination of an image rather than of a glass slide through traditional microscopy. The use of telepathology for clinical patient care has so far been limited to relatively few large academic institutions. Although a number of challenges remain, there is increasing demand for the use of information technology in pathology as a whole owing to the expansion of health care networks and the opportunity to enhance the quality of service delivered to patients. The software used to acquire, display, and manage digital images for clinical patient care may be subject to national and federal regulations just as is any other electronic information system. Despite the barriers, telepathology systems possess the capability to help manage pathology cases on a global scale, improve laboratory workload distribution, increase standardization of practice and enable new classes of ancillary studies to facilitate diagnosis and education even in the most remote parts of the earth.

The Promises and Pitfalls of Telemedicine

2017

Telemedicine technology promises to improve patient outcomes, lessen the burden of visits on patients, increase access to physicians, increase physician efficiency, and decrease costs. However, it must be incorporated into medical practice safely without impeding patient–doctor interactions. This will require an effective triage system, efficient physician workflow, and a HIPAA-compliant communication method, among others. Payment reform is a barrier to more widespread adoption: physicians must be able to care for their patients while being reimbursed. Technologies that enable real-time access to medical records, have the ability to capture high-quality images, and supply a comprehensive medical history will help further the success of telemedicine. The American Journal of Accountable Care. 2017;5(2):24-26 We are practicing in a time of rapid technological innovation. Telemedicine technology not only exists, but is increasingly being welcomed by healthcare consumers. It is imperativ...

Diagnostic telepathology: long-term experience of a single institution

Virchows Archiv, 2004

Objectives: The paper reviews the development of the application of telepathology in a department of surgical pathology between 1991 and 2003. The goal of the efforts during this time was to give up the concept of programming a single application, available only between two fixed workstations with sophisticated devices and special software, and to find the virtual "largest common denominator" for implementing as many different applications as possible with the same basic system. Methods: A new telepathology system was designed as a clientserver system with a relational database at its centre. The clients interact together by transferring the questions (texts and images) to a record (case) in the database on the server and by transferring the answers to the same record on the database. Results: