Telemedicine in haemodialysis: a university department and two remote satellites linked together as one common workplace.
A common workplace was established between the renal unit at the University Hospital of North Norway and two satellite dialysis centres, in Alta and Hammerfest. A 2 Mbit/s ATM network was employed for IP-based videoconferencing. A common electronic medical record system and dialysis monitoring software were used. During an eight-month study period, nine patients were enrolled and 225 videoconferences were performed for daily visits and regular rounds. A bandwidth of 768 kbit/s was required for satisfactory teledialysis. Although technical (28%) and logistical problems (10%) were frequent, five hospitalizations and one-third of the planned visiting rounds were avoided. An economic analysis showed that annual savings amounted to US$46,613, while annual costs were US$79,489. Despite the technical difficulties in about 30% of conferences, the nurses were satisfied with the videoconferencing system. Digital X-rays were communicated without problems. The pilot study indicates that satellite units may be incorporated into the daily management at the central institution by telemedicine.[1]References
- Telemedicine in haemodialysis: a university department and two remote satellites linked together as one common workplace. Rumpsfeld, M., Arild, E., Norum, J., Breivik, E. Journal of telemedicine and telecare. (2005) [Pubmed]
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