Smith Anthony C, Youngberry Karen, Christie Fiona, Isles Alan, McCrossin Robert, Williams Michael, Van der Westhuyzen Jasper, Wootton Richard
Centre for Online Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
J Telemed Telecare. 2003;9 Suppl 2:S58-61. doi: 10.1258/135763303322596282.
We compared the costs incurred by families attending outpatient appointments at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) in Brisbane with those incurred by families who had a consultation via videoconference in their regional area. In each category 200 families were interviewed. The median time spent travelling for videoconferences was 30 min compared with 80 min for face-to-face appointments. Families interviewed in the outpatient department had travelled a median distance of 70 km, while those who had a videoconference at the local hospital had travelled only 20 km. It cost these families much more to attend an appointment at the RCH than to attend a videoconference. Ninety-six per cent of families (193) reported at least one of the following types of expense: 150 families had expenses related to parking (median A 10 dollars), 156 had fuel expenses (median A 10 dollars) and 122 reported costs related to meals purchased at the RCH (median A 10 dollars). Only 21 families who had their appointment via local videoconference reported any additional costs. Specialist appointments via videoconference were a more convenient and cheaper option for families living in regional areas of Queensland than the conventional method of attending outpatient appointments at the specialist hospital in Brisbane.
我们比较了布里斯班皇家儿童医院门诊预约家庭与通过视频会议在其所在地区进行咨询的家庭所产生的费用。在每个类别中，我们采访了200个家庭。视频会议的出行时间中位数为30分钟，而面对面预约为80分钟。在门诊部接受采访的家庭出行距离中位数为70公里，而在当地医院进行视频会议的家庭仅出行了20公里。这些家庭前往皇家儿童医院预约的费用比参加视频会议的费用高得多。96%的家庭（193个）报告了至少以下一种费用类型：150个家庭有停车相关费用（中位数为10澳元），156个家庭有燃油费用（中位数为10澳元），122个家庭报告了在皇家儿童医院购买餐食的费用（中位数为10澳元）。只有21个通过当地视频会议进行预约的家庭报告了任何额外费用。对于居住在昆士兰州偏远地区的家庭来说，通过视频会议进行专科预约比在布里斯班专科医院进行传统门诊预约更方便、更便宜。
