The Integrated Telemedicine and e-Health program of Albania has become a useful tool to improve access to high-quality healthcare, particularly in high demanding specialty disciplines. A number of challenges were identified and these should serve as lessons for other countries in their quest to establish nationwide telemedicine programs.

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The ACS/COT basic criteria can be used as assessment tools to evaluate trauma care in developing countries. Further studies are needed in other developing countries to validate the applicability of these criteria.

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The U.S. Government and other developed nations provide billions of dollars annually in relief assistance to countries around the world. The long-term benefits of this aid, however, are often difficult to elucidate. The aim of this article is to present a model of a multipartnership collaboration among U.S. governmental, nongovernmental organizations, and academia to rebuild medical systems using telemedicine as a sustainable model of foreign aid. The International Virtual e-Hospital implemented the "initiate-build-operate-transfer" strategy to establish an effective telemedicine system in Albania that includes the National Telemedicine Center and 12 regional telemedicine centers. This nationwide telemedicine network has active clinical programs, virtual educational programs, and an electronic library that has substantially improved the access to care while advancing medical education. We propose that telemedicine is an optimal, sustainable, low-cost model for rebuilding medical systems of developing countries when implemented through a multipartnership approach.