title: Feasibility of AmbulanCe-Based Telemedicine (FACT) study: safety, feasibility and reliability of third generation in-ambulance telemedicine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Telemedicine is currently mainly applied as an in-hospital service, but this technology also holds potential to improve emergency care in the prehospital arena. We report on the safety, feasibility and reliability of in-ambulance teleconsultation using a telemedicine system of the third generation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A routine ambulance was equipped with a system for real-time bidirectional audio-video communication, automated transmission of vital parameters, glycemia and electronic patient identification. All patients ( ≥ 18 years) transported during emergency missions by a Prehospital Intervention Team of the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel were eligible for inclusion. To guarantee mobility and to facilitate 24/7 availability, the teleconsultants used lightweight laptop computers to access a dedicated telemedicine platform, which also provided functionalities for neurological assessment, electronic reporting and prehospital notification of the in-hospital team. Key registrations included any safety issue, mobile connectivity, communication of patient information, audiovisual quality, user-friendliness and accuracy of the prehospital diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prehospital teleconsultation was obtained in 41 out of 43 cases (95.3%). The success rates for communication of blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, glycemia, and electronic patient identification were 78.7%, 84.8%, 80.6%, 64.0%, and 84.2%. A preliminary prehospital diagnosis was formulated in 90.2%, with satisfactory agreement with final in-hospital diagnoses. Communication of a prehospital report to the in-hospital team was successful in 94.7% and prenotification of the in-hospital team via SMS in 90.2%. Failures resulted mainly from limited mobile connectivity and to a lesser extent from software, hardware or human error. The user acceptance was high.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ambulance-based telemedicine of the third generation is safe, feasible and reliable but further research and development, especially with regard to high speed broadband access, is needed before this approach can be implemented in daily practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Laetitia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yperzeele
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Robbert-Jan
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Van Hooff
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Smedt
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valenzuela Espinoza
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van Dyck
authors.affiliation: Flanders District of Creativity, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Rohny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van de Casseye
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Convents
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Research Group on Emergency and Disaster Medicine (ReGEDiM), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ives
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hubloue
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Research Group on Emergency and Disaster Medicine (ReGEDiM), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Door
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lauwaert
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Keyser
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Raf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brouns
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000552:Ambulances; D001530:Belgium; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012449:Safety; D017216:Telemedicine