Communications satellites in the national and global health care information infrastructure: their role, impact, and issues

Health care services delivered from a distance, known collectively as telemedicine, are being increasingly demonstrated on various transmission media. Telemedicine activities have included diagnosis by a doctor at a remote location, emergency and disaster medical assistance, medical education, and medical informatics. The ability of communications satellites to offer communication channels and bandwidth on demand, connectivity to mobile, remote and under served regions, and global access will afford them a critical role for telemedicine applications within the National and Global Information Infrastructure (NII/GII). The importance that communications satellites will have in telemedicine applications within the NII/GII the differences in requirements for NII vs. GII, the major issues such as interoperability, confidentiality, quality, availability, and costs, and preliminary conclusions for future usability based on the review of several recent trails at national and global levels are presented

Selected Topics on Computed Tomography

This book is a research publication that covers developments within the Diagnostics field of study. The book is a collection of reviewed scholarly contributions written by different authors and edited by an expert with specific expertise. Each scholarly contribution represents a chapter which is complete in itself but related to the major topics and objectives. The target audience comprises scholars and specialists in the field

A training effectiveness evaluation of LeatherNet

The author evaluates a Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) system known as LeatherNet to determine its abilities in fulfilling the long term Modeling and Simulation (M&S) goals of the United States Marine Corps. LeatherNet is a DIS compatible, virtual simulation system that is being developed to demonstrate the capabilities of today's simulation technology for military applications. The author developed an evaluation methodolgy that evaluates LeatherNet's ability to enhance traditional Marine Corps training. An evaluation was conducted by subject matter experts at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, 29 Palms, Ca. Analysis of results show that LeatherNet is effective in enhancing traditional live fire training methods despite its limited development. The author presents lessons learned related to this type of evaluation, and provides recommendations for further research. Additionally, the author recommends actions to be taken by the Marine Corps to optimize the benefits of LeatherNet and similar simulation products. (AN)http://archive.org/details/atrainingeffecti1094535153NANAU.S. Marine Corps (U.S.M.C.) author

Composite and comprehensive multimedia electronic health care records

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/845 on 03.04.2017 by CS (TIS)The thesis considers the issue of multimedia data utilisation within modem health care delivery and the consequent need for an appropriate patient records system. The discussions centre upon the deployment and utilisation of IT systems, and paper-based patient records within health care establishments (HCEs), and the resultant problems, such as data duplication, inconsistency, unavailability and loss. Electronic Health Care Records (EHCRs) are put forward as a means of obviating the problems defined, and effectively supporting the future development of care provision in a coherent manner. The thesis identifies the barriers to further development of EHCRs with respect to clinical data entry, clinical terminiologies, record security and the integration of other information sources. Equally, a number of EHCR developments are reviewed. This shows that, although elements of EHCRs (such as electronic prescribing) have been achieved, significant further developments are required to produce composite and comprehensive EHCRs, capable of capturing and maintaining all patient data (especially multimedia data, which is being increasingly utilised within care provision). The thesis defines a new comprehensive and composite Multimedia Electronic Health Care Record (MEHCR) system to facilitate the following: • delivery and management of all patient care; • creation/recording/support and maintenance of patient data (including multimedia data) to give composite and comprehensive multimedia patient records. The assistance of a local HCE was utilised throughout the project, enabling a suitable reference environment to be established and utilised, so that the process of care provision could be defined. The thesis describes how the requirements of the new MEHCR were identified (via examination of the care provision process defined), and thus how an appropriate conceptual design was formulated. This describes the form and capabilities of the required system. The resulting MEHCR is effectively a comprehensive care provision tool, which aids both process of care delivery and that of data generation and recording. Thus, the MEHCR concept facilitates patient care provision whilst aiding the seamless creation and maintenance of multimedia patient records. To achieve the conceptual design, a design environment was defined to give an intermediate means of enabling the MEHCR's implementation and further development. Thus, the MEHCR can be achieved, or implemented, using either a revolutionary or evolutionary approach. Equally, it is a means for enabling the MEHCR's continued evolution (e.g. the incorporation of new clinical systems etc.), so that it remains composite and comprehensive over time as care provision changes. The thesis also describes an evaluation of the ideas defined, based upon the development of a prototype system simulating the form and operations of the MEHCR conceptual design. The prototype system was demonstrated to a number of parties and an evaluation conducted. The results obtained were very positive as to the nature, structure and capabilities of the system as given by the conceptual design. The design environment was also commended as both a practical means of achieving the MEHCR (especially as it enables retaining of existing system where appropriate), and for its future development as care provision advances.Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trus

What factors are associated with the use of teletrauma in northern British Columbia?

Despite the existence of universal health care for Canadians, health inequalities persist. Those residing in rural regions of Canada may be at a disadvantage for accessing appropriate services. To enhance access, a teletrauma program was implemented in the Robson Valley, connecting rural clinicians during emergency cases. This study was undertaken to better understand the experiences of teletrauma users and why teletrauma is utilized. Data were gathered from 14 interviews with clinicians, health administrators, a researcher, and a health executive. Guided by interpretive description methodology, four major themes emerged, including: teletrauma affects the entire system of care; teletrauma enables a network of care built on interprofessional relationships; reasons clinicians use teletrauma are multifaceted and interrelated; and, interconnectedness of the healthcare system. Information from this study provides insight into the role and function of teletrauma in northern British Columbia and how it may better serve the needs of rural clinicians

Federating Digital Library Services for Advanced Applications in Science and Education

Abstract: Over the recent years numerous digital libraries have been deployed and enabled in the Internet with the use of various digital library frameworks. They contain valuable digital resources use of which is important to a large community of users, especially within the scientific and educational communities. The access to distributed digital resources has been a subject of research for a few years now. In this paper we present our own work in this area, discussing our approach at the distributed digital library platform that is widely used within the PIONIER optical network. We present the methodology for building distributed search and access to digital publications that allowed to create a national federation of digital libraries and that is now under investigation for possible use within various applica-tion fields including medicine, science and education

The Empirical Foundations of Teleradiology and Related Applications: A Review of the Evidence

Introduction: Radiology was founded on a technological discovery by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. Teleradiology also had its roots in technology dating back to 1947 with the successful transmission of radiographic images through telephone lines. Diagnostic radiology has become the eye of medicine in terms of diagnosing and treating injury and disease. This article documents the empirical foundations of teleradiology. Methods: A selective review of the credible literature during the past decade (2005?2015) was conducted, using robust research design and adequate sample size as criteria for inclusion. Findings: The evidence regarding feasibility of teleradiology and related information technology applications has been well documented for several decades. The majority of studies focused on intermediate outcomes, as indicated by comparability between teleradiology and conventional radiology. A consistent trend of concordance between the two modalities was observed in terms of diagnostic accuracy and reliability. Additional benefits include reductions in patient transfer, rehospitalization, and length of stay.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140295/1/tmj.2016.0149.pd

Supporting asynchronous telemedicine : electronic mail vs. the world wide web vs. replicated databases

Telemedicine has been presented as the "holy grail" for rural and remote regions yet many commercially available applications ignore the limitations faced by clinicians in these areas, in terms of the information carrying capacity of the communication mediums available, or have not considered the user model of the consultation process. This research investigates the development of a robust, efficient, low-data rate teleconsultation application that provides the "best fit" with users' models of the consultation process appropriate for rural and remote regions. The results indicate that teleconsultation applications should adopt an asynchronous operational model where the patient medical data closely resembles the traditional paper-based medical record