Telepaediatrics

Abstract

Telepaediatrics is becoming increasingly popular for several reasons, including improved access to specialist care in tertiary hospitals and savings in travel costs, especially to the families concerned. There are well known examples of clinical telepaediatric services in areas such as cardiology, fetal medicine, school health and psychiatry. In addition, there is an extensive telepaediatric service in Queensland, which currently provides about 1300 telepaediatric consultations per year. It is encouraging to see a growing literature on telepaediatrics, with positive experience being reported internationally in a wide range of areas. Telepaediatrics started relatively late compared to most other telemedicine applications, but this may yet turn out to be a case of the hare and the tortoise.

Study protocol: optimization of complex palliative care at home via telemedicine. A cluster randomized controlled trial

“…Literature shows that this form of teleconsultation reduces the number of traditional face-to-face consultations with a dermatologist [20-23]. In addition, a telemedicine approach has also been proven cost-effective in diabetes care and pediatrics [24,25]. In the field of palliative homecare however, few quantitative studies have been carried out [26-30].…”

Teleconsultation from a secondary hospital for paediatric emergencies occurring at rural hospitals in Queensland

“…Although a patient satisfaction study was not undertaken, other surveys have shown excellent patient support for telehealth consultation. [1][2][3][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]19 We received no complaints about adverse clinical outcomes from this patient group.…”

“…[1][2][3] Rural sites in Queensland often have limited infrastructure and experience in managing paediatric emergencies. These sites are usually staffed by generalist doctors without specialist training in paediatrics.…”

A chama e o órgão

“…Leibniz, num capítulo das suas primeiras notas médico-fisiológicas "Como é que o animal pode ser incitado a agir por (estímulo de) objectos externos ou internos e pelos órgãos dos sentidos", conclui que "ab exigua causa magnus ori tur in animal motus" tal como quando se abre a torneira e sai um forte jorro de água, ou quando a chama do rastilho atinge a pólvora. 48 Constatou-se muito depois que o mecanismo de propagação do influxo nervoso se baseia no mesmo tipo de fenó meno que a despolarização e activação do músculo. 49 Está, evidentemente, em causa, a reacção química (tipificada em fenómenos de explosão, fermentação e ebulição) e o modelo ou representação do corpo fibroso ou fibrilar e o seu culminar na teoria do "corpo nervoso" na doutrina médica de William Cullen.…”