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.
Brebner
E M
EM
Telemedicine Laboratory, Remote Health Care Unit, Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK. e.m.brebner@abdn.ac.uk
Brebner
J A
JA
Ruddick-Bracken
H
H
Wootton
R
R
Ferguson
J
J
Palombo
A
A
Pedley
D
D
Rowlands
A
A
Fraser
S
S
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*