title: Technical and organisational feasibility of a multifunctional telemedicine system in an emergency medical service - an observational study.
abstract: We evaluated the technical and organisational feasibility of a multifunctional telemedicine system in an emergency medical service (EMS) from the user's perspective. The telemedicine system was designed to transmit vital signs data and 12-lead-ECG data, send still pictures and allow voice communication and video transmission from an ambulance. The data were sent to a teleconsultation centre staffed with EMS physicians (tele-EMS physician). The system was used in 157 EMS missions. The applications were used successfully on 80% of missions for real-time vital signs transmission and on 97% for video transmission. The quality of the transmitted still images (n = 64) was: 23% excellent, 50% good, 17% moderate, 9% rather poor and 0% unusable. The quality of the video streaming (n = 36) was: 33% excellent, 56% good, 6% moderate, 6% rather poor and 0% unusable. The tele-EMS physician was able to assist the EMS team in several cases and provided the preliminary information for the hospital in nearly all missions. Use of the telemedical system in EMS is feasible and the quality of the transmitted images and video was satisfactory. However, technical reliability and availability need to be improved prior to routine use.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medical Care Section, Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany. sbergrath@ukaachen.de
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergrath
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rörtgen
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rossaint
authors.forename: Stefan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Beckers
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fischermann
authors.forename: Jörg Ch
authors.initials: JCh
authors.lastname: Brokmann
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Czaplik
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Felzen
authors.forename: Marie-Thérèse
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Schneiders
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skorning
mesh_terms: D000552:Ambulances / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D019112:Teleradiology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014741:Video Recording