Abstract
PURPOSE: To attempt to quantify the potential for success of tele-endoscopy as a component of the VTMEDNET Plus telemedicine implementation, a multi-part prospective study was undertaken by faculty of the Vermont Initiative for Rural Health Informatics and Telemedicine. METHOD: The study was comprised of three separate parts, evaluation of image quality, cost analysis, and identification of referring providers needs and attitudes regarding tele-endoscopy. FINDINGS: The image quality was satisfactory to support remote diagnosis in most cases; there was significant cost savings in a managed care environment; referring providers were generally positive about the attributes of tele-endoscopy. CONCLUSION: Tele-endoscopy is a viable and cost-effective component within a telemedicine system.
Full text
PDFSelected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Callas P. W., McGowan J. J., Leslie K. O. Provider attitudes toward a rural telepathology program. Telemed J. 1996 Winter;2(4):319–329. doi: 10.1089/tmj.1.1996.2.319. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Crump W. J., Pfeil T. A telemedicine primer. An introduction to the technology and an overview of the literature. Arch Fam Med. 1995 Sep;4(9):796–804. doi: 10.1001/archfami.4.9.796. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DeChant H. K., Tohme W. G., Mun S. K., Hayes W. S., Schulman K. A. Health systems evaluation of telemedicine: a staged approach. Telemed J. 1996 Winter;2(4):303–312. doi: 10.1089/tmj.1.1996.2.303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Johnson R. A., Quan M., Rodney W. M. Flexible sigmoidoscopy. J Fam Pract. 1982 Apr;14(4):757, 762-3 passim. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Larimore W. L., Zuber T. J. Coding and reimbursement for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures in primary care. J Fam Pract. 1994 Aug;39(2):153–159. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Margulies C., Krevsky B., Catalano M. F. How accurate are endoscopic estimates of size? Gastrointest Endosc. 1994 Mar-Apr;40(2 Pt 1):174–177. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5107(94)70162-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McGowan J., Evans J., Michl K. Networking a need: a cost-effective approach to statewide health information delivery. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1995:571–575. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Puskin D. S. Telecommunications in rural America. Opportunities and challenges for the health care system. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1992 Dec 17;670:67–75. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1992.tb26075.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rodney W. M., Beaber R. J., Johnson R., Quan M. Physician compliance with colorectal cancer screening (1978-1983): the impact of flexible sigmoidoscopy. J Fam Pract. 1985 Mar;20(3):265–269. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schoen R. E., Weissfeld J. L., Kuller L. H. Sigmoidoscopy use among primary care physicians. Prev Med. 1995 May;24(3):249–254. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1995.1041. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schwartz E., Catalano M. F., Krevsky B. Endoscopic estimation of size: improved accuracy by directed teaching. Gastrointest Endosc. 1995 Oct;42(4):292–295. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5107(95)70124-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Skolnick A. A., Shelton W. Experts explore emerging information technologies' effects on medicine. JAMA. 1996 Mar 6;275(9):669–670. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Vakil N., Smith W., Bourgeois K., Everbach E. C., Knyrim K. Endoscopic measurement of lesion size: improved accuracy with image processing. Gastrointest Endosc. 1994 Mar-Apr;40(2 Pt 1):178–183. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5107(94)70163-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]