Initial experiences and outcomes of telepresence in the management of trauma and emergency surgical patients

Latifi, Rifat; Hadeed, George J.; Rhee, Peter; O'Keeffe, Terrence; Friese, Randall S.; Wynne, Julie; Ziemba, Michelle; Judkins, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2009.08.011

Cited by 84 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In 2004, a telemedicine program was established at the University of Arizona Medical Center (UAMC) in Tucson to provide remote patient care and improve physician coverage in regional community hospitals. 6,7 The initial success of managing patients via telemedicine led to expansion of the scope of the program and resulted in the development of the teletrauma program. This program integrated all the regional rural hospitals and made specialized trauma care feasible to patients located in rural areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smartphone Surgery: How Technology Can Transform Practice

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Pandit

Rhee

et al. 2014

Telemedicine and e-Health

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Rural trauma care has been regarded as being the "challenge for the next decade." Trauma patients in rural areas face more struggles than their urban counterparts because of the absence of specialized trauma care, delay in providing immediate care to trauma victims, and longer transport times to reach a trauma center. Telemedicine is a promising tool for facilitating rural trauma care. This stellar tool creates a real-time link between a remotely located specialist and the local healthcare provider, especially during the initial management of the trauma patient, involving resuscitation and even intubation. However, the high cost of purchasing, setting up, and maintaining all the needed equipment has made telemedicine an expensive proposition for rural hospitals, which frequently have limited budgets. But recently, new improvements in communication technology have made smartphones an indispensable part of daily life, even in rural areas. These devices have great potential to improve patient care and enhance medical education because of their wide adoption and ease of use. In this article, we describe our initial teletrauma experience and the effect of smartphone implementation in patient care and medical education at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smartphone Surgery: How Technology Can Transform Practice

Zangbar

Pandit

Rhee

et al. 2014

Telemedicine and e-Health

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“…Over the past years, trauma telemedicine has evolved and it is now becoming integrated into trauma and surgical care. 12,24 Latifi et al 24 retrospectively evaluated 59 trauma and general surgery patients at rural hospitals, by means of telemedicine, from their level I trauma center. The telepresence of a trauma surgeon was considered potentially lifesaving for six patients (10.2%) and the authors concluded that telemedicine improved outcomes and reduced trauma care costs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial experience at a university teaching hospital from using telemedicine to promote education through video conferencing

et al. 2012

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CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Telehealth and telemedicine services are advancing rapidly, with an increasing spectrum of information and communication technologies that can be applied broadly to the population's health, and to medical education. The aim here was to report our institution's experience from 100 videoconferencing meetings between five different countries in the Americas over a one-year period. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective study at Universidade Estadual de Campinas. METHODS: Through a Microsoft Excel database, all conferences in all specialties held at our institution from September 2009 to August 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 647 students, physicians and professors participated in telemedicine meetings. A monthly mean of 8.3 (± 4.3) teleconferences were held over the analysis period. Excluding holidays and the month of inaugurating the telemedicine theatre, our teleconference rate reached a mean of 10.3 (± 2.7), or two teleconferences a week, on average. Trauma surgery and meetings on patient safety were by far the most common subjects discussed in our teleconference meetings, accounting for 22% and 21% of the total calls. CONCLUSION: Our experience with telemedicine meetings has increased students' interest; helped our institution to follow and discuss protocols that are already accepted worldwide; and stimulated professors to promote telemedicine-related research in their own specialties and keep up-to-date. These high-technology meetings have shortened distances in our vast country, and to other reference centers abroad. This virtual proximity has enabled discussion of international training with students and residents, to increase their overall knowledge and improve their education within this institution.

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“…1 Telemedicine is a viable alternative for providing expert consultation and procedural guidance in rural and remote prehospital settings, [2][3][4][5][6] particularly in the fields of trauma and emergency medicine. 7,8 In 2010, Sakles et al 9 reported the first case of a remotely assisted tracheal intubation. Using a Glidescope Ò videolaryngoscope (Verathon Medical Inc., Bothell, WA) with a telemedicine network, a realtime communication was obtained with the healthcare provider performing the procedure in a remote hospital.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%