Telemedicine is enabling patients to be treated in local surgeries
rather than hospital.
Struggling to cope with long waiting lists has become a fact of
life for most local health authorities. But help could be at hand
in the shape of remote telemedicine.
Put simply, telemedicine involves using technology to deliver
patient care and diagnosis at the patient's local surgery instead
of in a hospital.
According to Keith Freeman, a director at dermatology telemedicine
firm TDS, health authorities around the country are slowly
realising that the time is right to start using telemedicine. He
says health departments are under "significant pressure" to reduce
waiting lists and telemedicine can help.
In one case in Manchester, TDS claims to have reduced patient
waiting lists from 18 months to 17 days.
TDS' nurses attend special clinics in surgeries equipped with
laptops, digital cameras and analogue video cameras. They
photograph patients and glean as much information as possible from
them to assist in the diagnosis.
The medical records, complete with embedded electronic images, are
then sent to TDS' dermatology consultants via the company's central
server.
The company started out using software from BT Health but has since
switched to bespoke software from Millennium Systems. "It is more
professionally written and a lot quicker for the reporting
consultant to use," says Freeman. It also provides a better
archiving solution, allowing the company to cross-reference its
records.
The company can also provide health authorities with valuable
feedback, helping them to identify areas that need addressing. "An
awful lot more can be done in the surgery," says Freeman.
According to Freeman, the way that GP surgeries operate has started
to change since the company has been working with the NHS. He says
GPs are looking to deal with more patients "on-the-spot" and are
re-examining the way they refer patients to hospitals. Some are
looking at the idea of using nurses as dermatologists.
As for teething problems, Freeman says, "As with any new technology
there were occasional glitches but nothing that was a showstopper."
More of a barrier was the innate conservatism of the UK healthcare
industry. "Telemedicine was something new, and new concepts in
healthcare take a while before they are accepted," he says.
The company first rolled out the system in North-East Lincolnshire
on a small scale "to iron out the wrinkles" in 1998. It has since
handled over 10,000 patients for the NHS.
Freeman believes telemedicine could be equally effective in areas
such as plastic surgery, dentistry and ophthalmics. But right now
TDS has its hands full with dermatology. "The need for
dermatologists is still exceeding the NHS' supply," says
Freeman.
Karl Cushing