A three-year review of telemedicine at the community level--clinical and fiscal results.
The Telemedical Emergency Neurosurgical Network (TENN) was developed to establish community-level access to neurosurgical critical care services for an underserved urban population. Since October 1994, the system has provided round-the-clock connectivity between a single peripheral hospital and a 10-station receiving network which includes physicians' homes and offices. Data from the first 35 months of operation confirm clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness. The primary benefit was in providing rapid access to care for an 'at-risk' underserved population in emergencies. This undoubtedly resulted in the actual saving of life and prevention of permanent disability. The total costs over the 35 months were calculated as $64,375 and the total savings (mainly in avoided air transport) were $626,149, a net saving of $561,774.
Chodroff
P H
PH
John Muir/Mt Diablo Health System, Walnut Creek, CA, USA. PHC_BPCCons@compuserve.com
D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*