Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine, University Hospital of North Norway, PO Box 6060, 9038 Tromsø, Norway.
J Telemed Telecare. 2012 Sep;18(6):305-11. doi: 10.1258/jtt.2012.120315. Epub 2012 Aug 6.
Seven long-running telemedicine networks were surveyed. The networks provided humanitarian services (clinical and educational) in developing countries, and had been in operation for periods of 5-15 years. The number of experts serving each network ranged from 15 to 513. The smallest network had a total of 10 requesters and the largest one had more than 500 requesters. The networks operated in nearly 60 countries. The seven networks managed a total of 1857 cases in 2011, i.e. an average of 265 cases per year per network. There was a significant growth in total activity, amounting to 100.3 cases per year during the 15 year study period. In 2011, network activity was 50-700 teleconsultations per network. There were clear differences in the patterns of activity, with some networks managing an increasing caseload, and others managing a slowly reducing caseload. The seven networks had published a total of 44 papers listed in Medline which summarized the evidence resulting from the delivery of services by telemedicine. There was a dearth of information about clinical and cost-effectiveness. Nevertheless, the services were widely appreciated by referring doctors, considered to be clinically useful, and there were indications that clinical outcomes for telemedicine patients were often improved. Despite a lack of formal evidence, the present study suggests that telemedicine can provide clinically useful services in developing countries.
对七个长期运行的远程医疗网络进行了调查。这些网络在发展中国家提供人道主义服务（临床和教育），已经运行了 5-15 年。每个网络服务的专家人数从 15 人到 513 人不等。最小的网络共有 10 名请求者，最大的网络有超过 500 名请求者。这些网络在近 60 个国家开展业务。这七个网络在 2011 年共管理了 1857 例病例，即每个网络平均每年管理 265 例。在 15 年的研究期间，总活动量显著增长，达到每年 100.3 例。2011 年，网络活动量为每个网络 50-700 次远程咨询。活动模式存在明显差异，一些网络管理的病例数量在增加，而另一些网络管理的病例数量在逐渐减少。这七个网络共在 Medline 上发表了 44 篇论文，总结了远程医疗服务带来的证据。关于临床和成本效益的信息很少。然而，这些服务受到了转诊医生的广泛赞赏，被认为具有临床实用性，并且有迹象表明远程医疗患者的临床结果通常得到了改善。尽管缺乏正式的证据，但本研究表明，远程医疗可以在发展中国家提供具有临床实用性的服务。
