Department of Medicine, University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Can J Neurol Sci. 2010 Nov;37(6):814-8. doi: 10.1017/s0317167100051490.
Canadian provinces boast one of the most sophisticated telemedicine infrastructures in the world. Feasibility of epilepsy care through telemedicine is established, but its use by practicing neurologists is unknown. The Canadian League against Epilepsy's telemedicine task force conducted this study to understand the perceptions, barriers and usage of telemedicine in epilepsy care.
Using a 14 item questionnaire we prospectively surveyed all the epileptologists across Canada with regards to current use, perceived benefits and barriers to the use of telemedicine. The survey was mailed out to 76 neurologists who had a primary interest in epilepsy.
We received 39 responses (54.1%) spanning seven provinces. Majority of the responders were 50 years and over (56.4%). Although 61.5% of the physicians acknowledged a need for tele-epilepsy services, the majority (64.1%) had not used telemedicine. The most common forms of technology were videoconferencing and telephone but some physicians had also used email. Telemedicine was mainly used for clinical and educational purposes. 79.5% of physicians had access to videoconferencing equipment and 61.5% assessed that there was a need/use for clinical telehealth. The main perceived obstacles in the use of telemedicine were: lack of infrastructure support and remuneration problems followed by limitations in clinical examination.
Although widely available, telemedicine is under-utilized in epilepsy care. Most of the obstacles can be easily fixed and overcome through education and simple interventions. Partnering of epilepsy centers across Canada in the development of a comprehensive national telemedicine network would create an excellent opportunity to expand epilepsy care.
加拿大各省拥有世界上最先进的远程医疗基础设施之一。通过远程医疗进行癫痫治疗的可行性已得到证实，但执业神经科医生的使用情况尚不清楚。加拿大癫痫联盟远程医疗工作组进行了这项研究，以了解远程医疗在癫痫治疗中的看法、障碍和使用情况。
我们使用包含 14 个项目的问卷，前瞻性地调查了加拿大各地的所有癫痫专家，了解他们目前使用远程医疗的情况、对使用远程医疗的益处和障碍的看法。该调查通过邮件发送给了 76 位对癫痫有主要兴趣的神经科医生。
我们收到了来自七个省的 39 份回复（54.1%）。大多数回复者年龄在 50 岁及以上（56.4%）。尽管 61.5%的医生承认需要远程癫痫服务，但大多数（64.1%）没有使用远程医疗。最常见的技术形式是视频会议和电话，但一些医生也使用了电子邮件。远程医疗主要用于临床和教育目的。79.5%的医生可以使用视频会议设备，61.5%的医生评估存在临床远程医疗的需求/使用。使用远程医疗的主要障碍是：缺乏基础设施支持和报酬问题，其次是临床检查的限制。
尽管远程医疗广泛可用，但在癫痫治疗中的使用不足。大多数障碍可以通过教育和简单干预轻松解决和克服。在加拿大各地的癫痫中心合作开发全面的国家远程医疗网络，将为扩大癫痫治疗提供极好的机会。
