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This article reports on the development, implementation and management of a German–Polish telemedicine network in the field of pediatric oncology and hematology in the Euroregion Pomerania. The achievements and challenges of joint medical case reviews involving patients and their care givers, as well as cross-border education activities for physicians, students and nursing staff, are presented. In addition to a progress report, the results of an evaluation of the participants and teachers, likewise the measurement of knowledge growth, are given.
Quality of life (QoL) is a core patient-reported outcome in healthcare research, alongside primary clinical outcomes. A conceptual, operational, and psychometric elaboration of QoL in the context of TM is needed, because standardized instruments to assess QoL do not sufficiently represent essential aspects of intended outcomes of telemedical applications (TM). The overall aim is to develop an instrument that can adequately capture QoL in TM. For that purpose, an extended working model of QoL will be derived. Subsequently, an instrument will be developed and validated that captures those aspects of QoL that are influenced by TM. The initial exploratory study section includes (a) a systematic literature review, (b) a qualitative survey for concept elicitation, and (c) pre-testings using cognitive debriefings with patients and an expert workshop. The second quantitative section consists of an online expert survey and two patient surveys for piloting and validation of the newly developed instrument. The resulting questionnaire will assess central experiences of patients regarding telemedical applications and its impact on QoL more sensitively. Its use as adjunct instrument will lead to a more appropriate evaluation of TM and contribute to the improvement of care tailored to patients’ individual needs.
Quality of life (QoL) is a core patient-reported outcome in healthcare research, alongside primary clinical outcomes. A conceptual, operational, and psychometric elaboration of QoL in the context of TM is needed, because standardized instruments to assess QoL do not sufficiently represent essential aspects of intended outcomes of telemedical applications (TM). The overall aim is to develop an instrument that can adequately capture QoL in TM. For that purpose, an extended working model of QoL will be derived. Subsequently, an instrument will be developed and validated that captures those aspects of QoL that are influenced by TM. The initial exploratory study section includes (a) a systematic literature review, (b) a qualitative survey for concept elicitation, and (c) pre-testings using cognitive debriefings with patients and an expert workshop. The second quantitative section consists of an online expert survey and two patient surveys for piloting and validation of the newly developed instrument. The resulting questionnaire will assess central experiences of patients regarding telemedical applications and its impact on QoL more sensitively. Its use as adjunct instrument will lead to a more appropriate evaluation of TM and contribute to the improvement of care tailored to patients’ individual needs.
In catastrophic situations such as pandemics, patients' healthcare including admissions to hospitals and emergency services are challenged by the risk of infection and by limitations of healthcare resources. In such a setting, the use of telemedicine interventions has become extremely important. New technologies have proved helpful in pandemics as a solution to improve the quality of life in vulnerable patients such as persons with neurological diseases. Moreover, telemedicine interventions provide at-home solutions allowing clinicians to telemonitor and assess patients remotely, thus minimizing risk of infection. After a review of different studies using telemedicine in neurological patients, we propose a telemedicine process flow for healthcare of subjects with chronic neurological disease to respond to the new challenges for delivering quality healthcare during the transformation of public and private healthcare organizations around the world forced by COVID-19 pandemic contingency. This telemedicine process flow represents a replacement for in-person treatment and thereby the provision equitable access to the care of vulnerable people. It is conceptualized as comprehensive service including (1) teleassistance with patient counseling and medical treatment, (2) telemonitoring of patients' health conditions and any changes over time, as well as (3) telerehabilitation, i.e., interventions to assess and promote body functions, activities, and consecutively participation. The hereby proposed telemedicine process flow could be adopted on a large scale to improve the public health response during healthcare crises like the COVID-19 pandemic but could equally promote equitable health care independent of people's mobility or location with respect to the specialized health care center.
Ziel: Evaluation eines Systems, welches den vom Deutschen Brustkrebs-Screening geforderten Workflow unterstützt hinsichtlich Installationsdauer, Systemstabilität sowie Handhabung der Workstation. Material und Methoden: Das evaluierte System der Fa. Image Diagnost besteht aus Befundungs-Workstation, zentralem Server, Dicom-Shuttle zum Bildaustausch über ein digitales Netz und Archivierungsmöglichkeit. Eine speziell an die Bedürfnisse des Mammographie-Screenings angepasste Befundmaske erlaubt die Zuordnung der BIRADS-Kategorien. Das System gleicht anschließend die Ergebnisse von Erst- und Zweitbefunder automatisch ab und leitet divergente Befunde zum programmverantwortlichen Arzt (PVA) und zur Konsensuskonferenz weiter. Zwischen den beiden ca. 100 km voneinander entfernten Mammographie-Standorten wurden die Bilder mittels ISDN bzw. Deutsches Forschungsnetzwerk über einen zentralen Server ausgetauscht. Grundlage war ein funktionierendes telemedizinisches Netzwerk in der Region. Installationsdauer, Standfestigkeit im Betrieb sowie Handhabung der Workstation wurden evaluiert. Da die Evaluation mit kurativen Mammographien erfolgte, wurden zur Vergleichbarkeit mit Screeninggruppen Patientinnenalter und Ergebnis der Befundung nach BIRADS erhoben. Ergebnisse: Das System wurde in 5 Werktagen installiert und lief nach der Installationsphase weit gehend störungsfrei. Mammographie-Geräte zweier unterschiedlicher Hersteller wurden problemlos angeschlossen. Mammographien von 151 Patientinnen wurden zwischen den Standorten ausgetauscht und an beiden Standorten befundet. 57% der Patientinnen stammten aus der Screeningaltergruppe (50–69 Jahre). 9 Untersuchungen wurden als BIRADS 4a, 2 als 4b und 3 als BIRADS 5 klassifiziert. 144/151 Befundungen verliefen störungsfrei; die Bildschirmaufhängung war in 146/151 Sitzungen adäquat. In 26/151 Fällen musste von Hand nachgefenstert werden. Die Vergrößerungsfunktion wurde durchweg als adäquat eingestuft. Positiv ist die sehr kurze Umschaltzeit; technisch können bis zu 100 Mammographien/h befundet werden. Schlussfolgerung: Das evaluierte System ist geeignet, den vom Deutschen Mammographie-Screening-Programm vorgeschriebenen Workflow auch zwischen entfernten Standorten zu unterstützen.