Telemedicine Internationally: Case Studies

Telemedicine is saving lives abroad by increasing access to healthcare to rural areas. A 2010 report by WHO case studies highlight the importance of telemedicine internationally through case studies of Mongolia, Mexico, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Source: medetel.eu

Above is a screenshot of the software platform implemented in Mongolia to assist rural doctors in diagnosing pregnant mothers and referring them to a specialist in a city, if necessary. This technology encourages rural doctors to stay in a rural practice because they are able to get expert opinions from a distance. This technology saves patients the time and money where traveling to a city hospital for care is a substantial investment. Of the 598 cases looked at in 2009, only 36 needed a referral. Due to the huge success of this program, it had it's funding extended to reach more remote, rural provinces.

Source: who.int

In 2006 when breast cancer became the leading cause of death for women 50-69 in Mexico, the Opportune Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Program was created to transcend economic an geographic barriers to getting screened. With the goal to increase screening from 7.2% to 21.6%, 30 screening sites were connected to two interpretation centers where results are viewed by radiologists.Due to internet connectivity issues, many sites had to use CD's to transmit mammography images to the centers. This process could take up to three weeks to get results back to patients. Due to the success of this program, five more states have been included.

Source: who.int

Norway's teleECG is a telemedicine service for patients not in a hospital (at home or in an ambulance) to facilitate the early diagnosis and treatment of myocardial infarction. ECG images taken are sent to a hospital for analysis and storage, where a cardiologists looks at the images for a diagnosis and immediate course of action. Patient outcomes have improves 15-20%, as over 50% of antithrombolytic treatment is now administered by paramedics. Due to its successes, the service is being expanded countrywide.

Source: who.int

Based in the United Kingdom, the Swinfen Charitable Trust runs on volunteer service to connect physicians in developing countries to an international pool of specialists. Physicians can log in to a secure site and post pictures on a message board, where a consulting physician can give advice after receiving an email from an SCT representative. Most responses are received within 19-24 hours which helps rural physicians get advice and saves patients money from traveling to see a specialist. More languages are now being supported to reach even more doctors, like in Greece, France, Bolivia, and Tanzania.