{"id":20924,"date":"2024-06-14T11:57:23","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T11:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tuat.org\/?p=20924"},"modified":"2024-10-07T09:52:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T09:52:50","slug":"telemedicine-emergency-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tuat.org\/en\/telemedicine-emergency-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Telemedicine: Are We Ready for the Future in Emergency Departments?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What is telemedicine?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is it useful in the emergency room? Should we be afraid?<\/p>\n

Technology is transforming the health sector as it is transforming every sector. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, internet of things, virtual and augmented reality are opening new horizons in the medical world. Telemedicine is one of the technologies revolutionizing the healthcare sector.<\/p>\n

Telemedicine is the name given to the remote examination, diagnosis and treatment of patients by healthcare professionals using communication technologies.<\/p>\n

Although Telemedicine and Telehealth are actually intertwined concepts, the biggest difference between them is that Telemedicine is for diagnosis and treatment in accordance with clinical use, while telehealth can also include other general health practices such as protection, prevention and education. Without separating these two concepts, the World Health Organization defines telemedicine as “Services provided using information and communication technologies for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases and injuries, where distance is a critical factor; valid information sharing by all health professionals; research, evaluation and continuing education of health professionals”.<\/p>\n

Why is telemedicine important?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Telemedicine primarily enables underprivileged people in developing countries and rural areas to benefit from healthcare services. Considering that despite the advances made in the field of health, about half of the world’s population cannot benefit from reliable and accessible healthcare, the importance of telemedicine becomes clearer.<\/p>\n

History of Telemedicine<\/strong><\/p>\n

1876- The first event to be recognized as telehealth was Alexander Graham Bell calling his laboratory assistant for help when he spilled acid on his pants.<\/p>\n

1879- An article published in Lancet predicted that the use of the telephone could reduce unnecessary office visits.<\/p>\n

1925-Hugo Gernsback, a US inventor, came up with the idea of a device he called “teledactyl”, which would allow doctors to see distant patients on a screen and treat them with robotic arms.<\/p>\n

1950-The first application that could be called telemedicine emerged in the 1950s when some hospitals in the US started sharing information and images over telephone lines. The first notable success in this field was when two hospitals in Pennsylvania succeeded in sharing X-ray images over telephone lines. This method, which was initially used for doctors to consult specialists elsewhere, provided great benefits, especially for patients in rural areas to reach specialist doctors.<\/p>\n

1960- The first telemedicine application in the modern sense started in the 1960s, when NASA sent people into space. The health status of astronauts was measured with devices on board the spacecraft and the results were sent to doctors on earth via satellite technology. Deciding to bring this technology down to earth, NASA sent a van to Indian settlements in Arizona, which lacked health services. Equipped with X-ray and ECG devices, the measurements made in this van were transmitted to specialists via microwave and the necessary treatments were recommended.<\/p>\n

1970-Telemedicine services have undergone a major transformation with the Internet age. The proliferation of smart devices and high-definition video transmission opened up many new possibilities for both patients and doctors.<\/p>\n

During a NASA flight in 2021, the first holographic telemedicine call took place in space from Earth. Nasa expert Dr. Schmit called it holoportation. Holoportation is a kind of technology of capturing 3D models of people in real time. A mixed reality where our physical body is not there, but our human being is. Microsoft has been working on this application since 2016.<\/p>\n

Telemedicine in the World<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2013, the number of patients using telemedicine tools was 350,000, while this number exceeded 10 million in 10 years. Telemedicine is practiced to a certain extent in all countries of the world, but the level of prevalence is determined by technological infrastructure and legal regulations.<\/p>\n

The USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands are the leading countries in telemedicine applications…<\/p>\n

In Germany, 30 hospitals have been working with video conferencing since 1986. While the UK and Switzerland, where private health insurance is widespread, support telemedicine solutions, the fact that social security systems in Belgium and the Netherlands do not cover the costs of telemedicine prevents this practice from becoming widespread.<\/p>\n

The regions that stand to benefit the most from telemedicine are developing countries that lack adequate healthcare services. For example, although Africa hosts 14 percent of the world’s population, 24 percent of global patients are located in this continent. Yet only 1 percent of the world’s health spending takes place in Africa. This problem is especially acute in rural areas, where there is one doctor for every 7,700 people.<\/p>\n

However, despite the obvious advantages of telemedicine applications, high costs, lack of infrastructure and expertise prevent telemedicine applications from becoming widespread in developing countries.<\/p>\n

For this reason, only 31 countries in the world are making tangible progress in this field.<\/p>\n

However, important steps have recently been taken in countries such as Brazil, Cambodia, Ecuador, India, Nepal, the Philippines and South Africa. For example, Nepal’s Ministry of Health provides health services to 25 regions of the country from the telemedicine center established in Patan Hospital.<\/p>\n

With the Mobile Surgery Program in Ecuador, doctors in rural areas can reach volunteer specialists 24 hours a day. Patients who are determined to need surgery as a result of interviews are operated on in mobile operating rooms in rural areas. The post-treatment follow-up process is also carried out remotely with the Mobile Surgery Program.<\/p>\n

In Indonesia, those who download applications such as Dokita and Doctor Gratis can access doctors free of charge from anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n

Telemedicine in Turkey<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2019 COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated telemedicine efforts in Turkey in order to reduce the risk of transmission.<\/p>\n

In this system, which is called telehealth (Dr. e-Nab\u0131z), citizens can access the system via mobile application or web environment (https:\/\/dr.enabiz.gov.tr), as well as through 182 MHRS call center. The telemedicine videoconference initiated can be continued with or without video with the consent of both parties, and video recordings are stored for 12 months in data centers permitted by the ministry. In case of an administrative investigation, inspectors are granted access.<\/p>\n

The number of appointments made during the pandemic period was 30441, 7666 of which ended as a successful telemedicine consultation.<\/p>\n

On February 10, 2020, the Regulation on the Provision of Remote Health Services was published in the Official Gazette and there are areas that need to be improved in terms of scope and protection of personal data.<\/p>\n


Advantages for Emergency Services<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recent studies on this subject point out that emergency departments are the areas that use telemedicine the most and have the highest rate of benefit.<\/p>\n

Increases access for patients in remote areas.<\/p>\n

Helps specialists intervene in emergency patients more quickly.<\/p>\n

Reduce waiting times due to crowded emergency departments.<\/p>\n

Reduces the number and workload of emergency medical staff.<\/p>\n

Disadvantages for the Emergency Department<\/p>\n

Errors that may occur when telemedicine is not sufficient for medical intervention…<\/p>\n

The risk that technological problems, internet connection, power outages, etc. may cause interruption of telemedicine services…<\/p>\n

Concerns about ethical issues, patient privacy, patient information and consent, medical decisions, etc…<\/p>\n

Payment, billing, legal issues…<\/p>\n

The Technology Literacy we need<\/p>\n

I believe that we will benefit a lot from the field of Telemedicine in the coming days with the consolidation of the legal ground and increasing technological literacy.<\/p>\n

In this blog article, I tried to share with you what I know about Telemedicine. We looked at the world, we looked at what they are doing, we talked about Turkey, where we are now, now it is our turn as individuals…<\/p>\n

Every individual has a purpose of existence, in this age of technology, which has gained terrible momentum with artificial intelligence, instead of rebellion and denial; we have to learn, develop and do better.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nazl\u0131 G\u00d6RMEL\u0130 KURT<\/p>\n

Ankara City Hospital Emergency Medicine Clinic<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

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