Feasibility of Telecardiology Solution to Connect Rural Health Clinics to a Teaching Hospital.

Indian J Community Med

Cardiology Solutions Group, Philips Electronics North America/HealthTech, Andover, Massachusetts, USA.

Published: January 2017

Background: In spite of enormous progress in cardiac care in India, rural communities lack access to even basic cardiac care. One possible solution to this problem is to employ telecardiology.

Objectives: To demonstrate feasibility of telecardiology system to link rural clinics to a teaching hospital.

Methods: Five rural clinics were linked to a teaching hospital, using an inexpensive system of cardiographs and tablet PCs to transmit ECGs to hospital and have them interpreted by cardiologist.

Results: Three hundred eighty ECGs were acquired at clinics with 98.9% of them noise-free and transmitted to the hospital with 99.7% success on first attempt. Interpretation of ECG was provided to primary care physician at the clinic on the same day for 95.3% of ECGs. Abnormal ECG findings were seen on 22.6% of these ECGs.

Conclusion: This system performed well with high success rate of acquisition and transmission. Staff at rural clinics successfully acquired quality ECGs and transmitted them and the staff at the hospital were able to provide timely interpretation of ECGs and advice to patients.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561697PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_368_16DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

rural clinics
12
feasibility telecardiology
8
clinics teaching
8
teaching hospital
8
cardiac care
8
rural
5
clinics
5
hospital
5
ecgs
5
telecardiology solution
4

Similar Publications

Background: Tele-robotic ultrasound (US) is a novel technique that might help overcome the current shortage of radiologists and poor access to radiologists and/or sonographers in remote or rural areas. Despite the promising results of this technology in the past two decades, there is still insufficient data about its advantages and limits, as well as the implementation in routine clinical practice and the learning curve for the user. The purpose of this prospective cohort-based study is to evaluate the performance of a 5G-based tele-robotic US system for abdominal and thyroid gland assessment in a cohort of healthy volunteers and outpatients, as well as assessing the learning curve and patient satisfaction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) does not receive any Medicare rebate. This study investigated the views of Australian healthcare providers and consumers on public funding of NIPT.

Materials And Methods: Two anonymous online, cross-sectional surveys were conducted from September 2022 to January 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Ensuring an appropriate length of stay (LOS) is a primary goal for hospitals, as prolonged LOS poses clinical risks and organizational challenges. Children and adolescents are particularly susceptible to prolonged LOS due to frequent hospitalizations and unique vulnerabilities, including developmental disabilities that may necessitate additional care and monitoring. This study aims to describe the LOS of children and adolescent patients and identify the sociodemographic, organizational, clinical, and nursing care factors contributing to prolonged LOS in this population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate serum cystatin C as a potential biomarker for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a rural Indian population, addressing the urgent need for effective screening tools amidst rising diabetes prevalence.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study recruited 112 patients with diabetes mellitus from Sambalpur, Odisha, India, categorized into groups with and without DR. Serum cystatin C levels were measured alongside clinical and demographic parameters, using established diagnostic methods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Urogenital schistosomiasis is a persistent public health problem in many rural areas of Yemen. Since 2014, epidemiology has not been assessed in Amran governorate, north of Yemen, where is known to be highly endemic. Therefore, this study determined the prevalence and risk factors associated with infection among schoolchildren in Kharif district of the governorate.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!