Evaluation of an accident and emergency teleconsultation service for north-east Scotland.
We evaluated an accident and emergency teleconsultation service provided to 14 community hospitals in north-east Scotland. Each community hospital was equipped with a videoconferencing system and a document camera to allow transmission of radiographs. The network used 384 kbit/s ISDN connections. A total of 1392 teleconsultations were recorded during a 12-month study period. Seventy-seven per cent of patients (n = 1072) were managed locally and 23% (n = 320) were transferred to Aberdeen. The majority (95%) of teleconsultations were conducted on weekdays, and 90% of these occurred between the hours of 09:00 and 16:00. The mean delay in contacting a doctor was 9 min and the mean consultation time was 10 min. The majority of patients were suffering from fractures or suspected fractures of the limbs. Radiograph transmission was used in 75% of all teleconsultations. A high degree of satisfaction was recorded by all users of the service.
Telemedicine Laboratory, Remote Health Care Unit, Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK. e.m.brebner@abdn.ac.uk
E M
EM
Brebner
J A
JA
Brebner
H
H
Ruddick-Bracken
R
R
Wootton
J
J
Ferguson
A
A
Palombo
D
D
Pedley
A
A
Rowlands
S
S
Fraser
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D005260:Female; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D015397:Program Evaluation; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012606:Scotland; D019112:Teleradiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*