Holden Dwight, Dew Elizabeth
McCurtain Memorial Hospital, Idabel, Oklahoma 74745, USA.
Telemed J E Health. 2008 May;14(4):381-4. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2007.0054.
Telemedicine in a rural, gero-psychiatric inpatient unit is a groundbreaking concept. The use of telemedicine in rural communities, both inpatient and outpatient, is a significant way to provide specialty care that might otherwise only be available in urban areas. Establishing its credibility through perception/satisfaction studies and clinical outcome studies is therefore crucial. This paper outlines an initial attempt to provide some of the necessary data. A review of the literature reveals limited data to demonstrate the impact of telemedicine on inpatient healthcare satisfaction and perceived outcomes as compared to traditional, on-site physician practice. None of the literature addresses the use of telemedicine in an inpatient gero-psychiatric unit. The McCurtain Memorial Hospital is a pioneer in the use of telemedicine to provide acute gero-psychiatric care in a community-based inpatient setting. Pre- and post-Patient/Family Satisfaction Survey data for a period ranging 12 months prior to inception of telemedicine and 12 months postinception were aggregated and analyzed. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between telemedicine and the patient/family satisfaction with and perception of benefits of treatment. It must be noted that patient/family perception of outcome and actual measures of clinical outcome are not the same. Clinical outcome data must also be collected to fully assess the success of telemedicine in this arena.
远程医疗应用于农村老年精神科住院部是一个开创性的概念。在农村社区的住院和门诊环境中使用远程医疗，是提供专科护理的重要方式，否则这些护理可能只能在城市地区获得。因此，通过认知/满意度研究和临床结果研究来确立其可信度至关重要。本文概述了提供一些必要数据的初步尝试。文献综述显示，与传统的现场医生诊疗相比，证明远程医疗对住院医疗满意度和感知结果影响的数据有限。没有文献涉及远程医疗在老年精神科住院部的应用。麦柯廷纪念医院是在基于社区的住院环境中使用远程医疗提供急性老年精神科护理的先驱。收集并分析了远程医疗实施前12个月和实施后12个月期间的患者/家属满意度调查数据。结果表明，远程医疗与患者/家属对治疗益处的满意度和感知之间存在正相关。必须注意的是，患者/家属对结果的感知与临床结果的实际衡量并不相同。还必须收集临床结果数据，以全面评估远程医疗在这一领域的成功情况。
