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Telemedicine Comes Into Its Own
goG writes "Telemedicine — providing care using advanced communications technology may be coming into its own with a little help from Uncle Sam. The Obama administration recently awarded $795 million in grants and loans for 66 new broadband projects. Most of these projects will involve using videoconferencing equipment to allow doctors to consult on medical procedures or examinations remotely."
You apparently are unaware that the Bush Administration spent a lot more money to fight AIDS in Africa then any President before or since. Oh what a shame, the UN kleptocrats didn't get their cut.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
I was a research assistance for a study conducted in 2007, which surveyed the usage of Telemedicine in Minnesota. http://www.mti.umn.edu/mti.html, (be kind, it was my first web application ever, and it has since been broken by the people maintaining it).
The primary usage, IIRC, was for psychiatric health. In particular, mental health facilities in northern Minnesota seemed to favor this approach; it is much cheaper to employ councilors and "out-source" a MD rather than have a full-time psychiatrist on staff.
Telemedicine may be more cost-effective, but IMHO it will probably be abused and doctors (like radiologists), whom are already very busy, will be pushed even harder. Computer-Aided-Diagonsis tools, like those in existence for detecting microcalcifications in breast tissue, will become essential. Over-worked doctors miss things, and sometimes a computerized second opinion can improve the quality of diagnoses while holding down costs.
DISCLAIMER: I am not in the medical industry, but I did some research as an undergrad on the things mentioned above.
Someone suggested that insurance companies might direct their customers to call center doctors in third-world countries. That's already happening. This is the real world of "telemedicine". This is a real ad:
Doctors needed for a Call Center Jobs in Pakistan
MBBS Doctors needed to work in our Call Center
Contact: Mr. Aftab Ibrahim (aftab@catcos.com)
Mr. Wasif Balouch Ashrafi (wasif@catcos.com)
Or Call on 021-34549291 - 021-34529748
I've been a developer on a Telemedicine project for the last 4.5 years. One thing that really surprised me was just how much money can be saved by using telemed.
Ear tubes are a great example, where I live there is a high incidence of ear tubes in young children. The surgery to install the ear tubes are only a part of the overall total cost. One of the biggest costs if follow up care. So the patient and a guardian travels a great distance to the hospital for a 15 minute appointment to have the doc say that everything is OK. Total direct cost for that is upwards of $3000 (airfare, hotel, per diem), that doesn't count lost wages for the guardian.
Using telemed, the patient goes into the local clinic, they snap a few pics of the tympanic membrane using a video otoscope and the health aide sends that information to the doctor for review. Total cost to the patient, about 15-30 minutes.
I've posted this anonymously for a couple of reasons, the biggest being I don't want readers to think I'm stumping or trying to spam my employer.
Actually, thats not true. I have experience with telemed having worked on a telemed project for the last 4.5 years. Telemed actually decreases response time and improves costs. One group that I'm familiar with, makes it a requirement for their doctors to check the telemed case queue when they have down time. This particular clinic when from having a waiting list 4 months long to get an appointment, to now its typically less than 1 week. And telemed is responsible for this because the doctors can take and review cases when they have a few moments free, instead of the patients having to travel in to the clinic and occupy an exam room.
Bush Has Quietly Tripled Aid to Africa
Wasn't a Bush supporter (I hate both D's and R's), but the facts are what they are.