McLean S et al, BMJ, 342
Telehealthcare is personalised healthcare delivered over a distance; data are transferred from the patient to the professional, who then provides feedback
In patients with severe long term conditions, such as problematic asthma and diabetes, telehealthcare can reduce hospital admissions without increasing mortality
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Grieger DL et al, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 205(1)
BACKGROUND:
Adoption rates for electronic health records (EHRs) have been slow, despite growing enthusiasm. Cost is a frequently cited obstacle to implementing an EHR. The body of literature citing a positive return on investment is largely anecdotal and infrequently published in peer-reviewed journals.
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Pan E et al, Telemedicine and e-Health, 14(5)
Telehealth has great potential to improve access to care, but its adoption in routine healthcare has been slow. The lack of clarity about the value of telehealth implementations has been one reason cited for this slow adoption. The Center for Information Technology Leadership has examined the value of telehealth encounters in which there is a provider both with the patient and at a distance from the patient. We considered three models of telehealth: store-and-forward, real-time video, and hybrid systems. Evidence from the literature was extrapolated using a computer simulation, which found that the hybrid model was the most cost effective.
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van der Pol, Marjon, and Lynda McKenzie, J Telemed Telecare, 2010
We assessed the cost and benefits of tele-endoscopy clinics in a remote location in Scotland. Before the introduction of a tele-endoscopy service, patients whose symptoms suggested possible cancer of the airways had to travel to the mainland (to Aberdeen) to receive an endoscopy. The costs of staff, capital, disposables and travel were estimated for the tele-endoscopy clinic and for the conventional, mainland clinic. The benefits of the two types of clinic were estimated from a sample of the general public using a survey method called the discrete choice experiment. The average cost per patient was lower for the tele-endoscopy clinic (£353) than for the mainland clinic (£381).
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Dávalos, María E. et al, Telemedicine and e-Health, 15(10)
Telemedicine programs provide specialty health services to remote populations using telecommunications technology. This innovative approach to medical care delivery has been expanding for several years and currently covers various specialty areas such as cardiology, dermatology, and pediatrics. Economic evaluations of telemedicine, however, remain rare, and few of those conducted have accounted for the wide range of economic costs and benefits. Rigorous benefit-cost analyses of telemedicine programs could provide credible and comparative evidence of their economic viability and thus lead to the adoption and/or expansion of the most successful programs.
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Cooper, Kath, and Kevin Dought, Journal of Assistive Technologies, 3(3)
A pilot project was initiated in Wrexham in North Wales with two groups of patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). One group was provided with a commercial telehealth system (HomMed Genesis) while the other received a medical telecare service involving standalone vital signs peripherals and a phone call from a respiratory nurse who collected data and entered them into a spreadsheet.
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Yu, Ping et al, International Journal of Medical Informatics, 78(8)
Background and purpose
EpiData and Epi Info are often used together by public health agencies around the world, particularly in developing countries, to meet their needs of low-cost public health data management; however, the current open source data management technology lacks a mobile component to meet the needs of mobile public health data collectors. The goal of this project is to explore the opportunity of filling this gap through developing and trial of a personal digital assistant (PDA) based data collection/entry system. It evaluated whether such a system could increase efficiency and reduce data transcription errors for public surveillance data collection in developing countries represented by Fiji.
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Moreno-Ramirez, David et al, J Telemed Telecare, 15(1)
We conducted an economic analysis of a store-and-forward teledermatology system for the routine triage of skin cancer patients. A cost-identification, cost-effectiveness and sensitivity analysis under a societal perspective was used to compare teledermatology with the conventional care alternative.
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Verhoeven F et al, J Med Internet Res, 9(5)
Background:
A systematic literature review was carried out to study the benefits of teleconsultation and videoconferencing on the multifaceted process of diabetes care. Previous reviews focused primarily on usability of technology and considered mainly one-sided interventions.
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Wilson, Petra, BMJ, 324(7337)
Health related websites are frequently accessed on the internet. A poll in August 2001 concluded that almost 100 million American adults regularly go on line for information about health care. As over 100 000 sites offer health related information, “trying to get information from the internet is like drinking from a fire hose, you don’t even know what the source of the water is.”
Walker J et al, Health Affairs, Suppl Web Exclusives 2005
In this paper we assess the value of electronic health care information exchange and interoperability (HIEI) between providers (hospitals and medical group practices) and independent laboratories, radiology centers, pharmacies, payers, public health departments, and other providers.
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