telemedicine: - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

blktour · 02-18-2008, 01:34 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemedicine

I came across this in the "random article" section.

so what does everyone think about this?

is this basically a network of medicine. Like calling someone in another state or country that can help you with the issue that you have? maybe someone who specializes in the field?

My thing is do you think that hospitals care about this? do they promote this or do they not want to promote this for business reasons?
do hospitals charge when doing this?

I just touched on this and it sounded kind of interesting. Maybe someone here that has more experience in this field could help me with this, like the pros and cons of this?

sounds like to me that this is the "health care" version of worldwide connectivity.

will this help

whatever1 · 02-18-2008, 04:18 AM

I used to work at a world renowned medical center in Baltimore (not who you think!) We used telemedicine for 2 situations.

1 for years, we were the consult center for disney cruise lines. Our physicians would help determine if and when a patient was removed from the ship.

2 we were a stroke center, before there was stroke centers. There actually were head cams in a few rural ERs in the southern area. They would consult our stroke team and the team would watch the exam to determine if the patient needed to come to our facility for treatment.

eribrav · 02-18-2008, 04:06 PM

It can be very useful in rural areas where different specialists may be hours away, but it definitely has its limitations.

Ultimately nothing replaces quality Doctor- Patient human interaction.

Fotzlid · 02-18-2008, 10:50 PM

I don't thing the hospital I work at would be interested in doing something like this.
Some of the factors would be:
Cost - Its a small hospital with a tight budget. Half of our computers desperately need to be replaced or, at the very least, upgraded.
Training - Its almost scary how computer-illiterate most health care professionals are. I'm considered a guru because I know how to get the computers up and running again without calling the help desk. This also falls under the cost catagory.
Need - The hospital I work at is very close to some major hospitals in Boston. We can get a patient transferred in under 30 minutes if need be without calling in a helicopter. We also have internet access so the attendings have a good resource for researching a patients condition.

Where I work is atypical. I think the majority of hospitals and clinics would greatly benefit from this technology. Cost is going to be a major factor. I don't see this becoming commonplace until the Fed ponies up the cash.

02-18-2008, 01:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
blktour Psycho Location: Anchorage, AK	telemedicine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemedicine I came across this in the "random article" section. so what does everyone think about this? is this basically a network of medicine. Like calling someone in another state or country that can help you with the issue that you have? maybe someone who specializes in the field? My thing is do you think that hospitals care about this? do they promote this or do they not want to promote this for business reasons? do hospitals charge when doing this? I just touched on this and it sounded kind of interesting. Maybe someone here that has more experience in this field could help me with this, like the pros and cons of this? sounds like to me that this is the "health care" version of worldwide connectivity. will this help

02-18-2008, 04:18 AM	#2 (permalink)
whatever1 Tilted Location: Central PA	I used to work at a world renowned medical center in Baltimore (not who you think!) We used telemedicine for 2 situations. 1 for years, we were the consult center for disney cruise lines. Our physicians would help determine if and when a patient was removed from the ship. 2 we were a stroke center, before there was stroke centers. There actually were head cams in a few rural ERs in the southern area. They would consult our stroke team and the team would watch the exam to determine if the patient needed to come to our facility for treatment.

02-18-2008, 04:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
eribrav Junkie Location: upstate NY	It can be very useful in rural areas where different specialists may be hours away, but it definitely has its limitations. Ultimately nothing replaces quality Doctor- Patient human interaction.

02-18-2008, 10:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
Fotzlid Junkie Location: Greater Boston area	I don't thing the hospital I work at would be interested in doing something like this. Some of the factors would be: Cost - Its a small hospital with a tight budget. Half of our computers desperately need to be replaced or, at the very least, upgraded. Training - Its almost scary how computer-illiterate most health care professionals are. I'm considered a guru because I know how to get the computers up and running again without calling the help desk. This also falls under the cost catagory. Need - The hospital I work at is very close to some major hospitals in Boston. We can get a patient transferred in under 30 minutes if need be without calling in a helicopter. We also have internet access so the attendings have a good resource for researching a patients condition. Where I work is atypical. I think the majority of hospitals and clinics would greatly benefit from this technology. Cost is going to be a major factor. I don't see this becoming commonplace until the Fed ponies up the cash.