The International Digital Transformation of Healthcare: Telehealth Development in the Global Community

Using advances in information and communication technologies (ICT), telemedicine and eHealth are providing a means to transform systems of care for people throughout the world by providing greater access to clinical service, consultation, sharing knowledge, education and training, public and community health, health systems development, epidemiology and research. Leap-frogging over prior barriers, rapid advances in information communication technologies (ICT), computing, and wireless networks are offering greater continuity in access to these services in both developed and developing countries. The use of telehealth must be put in the context of the critical health needs in each country, cultural perspectives, current and future communication infrastructure, other supportive resources, and likelihood for sustainability. Furthermore, these telehealth efforts should be aimed at improving the local capacity in providing ongoing health services in each country and blend into that country’s current and future health care strategies. As the world continues to “shrink”, developing this international telehealth “network of networks” offers an opportunity for cooperation, collaboration, knowledge sharing and improving the health of every individual in the world, applying information technologies for peace and the betterment of mankind. The time is now for open and constructive dialogue designed to facilitate that coordination between key stakeholders and other international organisations. These types of international exchange experiences enhanced with telehealth offer significant opportunities for understanding the common denominators, as well as unique differences, related to global health among countries and cultures around the world. These programs can promote international understanding and mutual respect in a manner that can improve the health of the entire global community

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NNLM-funded Public Service Announcement promoting access to MedlinePlus for information for patient

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NLM-funded Public Service Announcement promoting access to MedlinePlus for answers to patients\u27 question

Assessment of hemodynamic function with pulsed doppler ultrasound

Recent refinements in pulsed Doppler technology have made possible the noninvasive assessment of hemodynamic function. The application of the Doppler frequency shift principle to study discrete velocity events at a measured distance from the transducer is discussed. The accuracy and limitations of Doppler techniques in determining ascending aortic and peripheral blood flow velocities in infants with various cardiac lesions are examined. Noninvasive assessment of myocardial contractility is also described. Most studies performed to date suggest that pulsed Doppler techniques provide a sensitive approach to the measurement of flow velocity and acceleration in appropriate selected circumstances. However, distinctions between volume flow and flow velocity must be considered in the interpretation of data

Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors Related to Health among the Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador and the Potential Application of Telehealth

There is much concern of health effects related to gas drilling in the provinces of Ecuador. Recent research has shown a possible correlation between oil drilling and a multitude of health problems (1). Cancer rates in particular may be elevated in populations exposed to the drilling pollutants; while intriguing, this research remains inconclusive in large partly because of difficulties in diagnosing cancer among other health problems in rural populations, but also due to local peoples perception of exposure. It has been determined that previous explorations between petroleum and cancer had not been approached directly in terms of taking indigenous peoples knowledge, attitude, behavior, and beliefs (KABB) into account, which is vital in shaping their identity and entity as a whole, particularly in the intersections of medical, ecological-environmental, and cultural-historical trajectories. Upon further investigation in the current literature and discussion with the local experts in the fields of anthropology and epidemiology, it is identified that the perception of illness and its implication in terms of KABB must be assessed and taken under consideration before the true prevalence of cancer in this region can be measured to its true extent. This research will therefore aim to lay the groundwork by conducting interviews utilizing surveys developed to assess the KABB of local people through healthcare providers and indigenous healers. Targeted interviewees will be from the following key figures of the local healthcare system: Physicians, nurses, promotores, shamans (Indigenous healers), Quito\u27s epidemiologists, public health officials, oncologists. The KABB of the indigenous healers will be compared to those of western-trained healthcare providers and scientists. Targeted locales will be major cities such as Quito and rural areas in the Oriente. We will also enlist the help of students at Universidad Tecnologica Equinoccial (UTE), Equinoccial Technological University in Quito using Telehealth Video-Telephone-Conferencing (VTC) and Internet to share project progress, discuss issues, and to share information. The result will be valuable for future endeavor to further investigate the link between petroleum exploration and its carcinogenic effects on local population, as well as to establish the true prevalence of cancer due to petroleum exploration. This research also could help prevent a major health crisis, similar to the once-unknown deleterious effects of tobacco use along with its far-reaching medical-legal aftermath of unprecedented cases of litigations. It is hoped that this research will serve as a forerunner in qualitative research utilizing KABB model to explore area of complicated human-environment-diseases interactions; and thereby to shed light into the ambiguous relationship between cultural beliefs, petroleum exploration, and cancer in Ecuador. The study was aimed at laying the groundwork for future focused research to address critical health issues among the people affected. Results of the surveys showed that the concerns related to petroleum drilling and its effects on the environment and health is less tantamount in the urban areas compared to the rural communities near the drilling areas. Independent of the petroleum drilling activities, we found that the major health problems are related to poverty, malnutrition, unclean water, and a variety of potentially preventable infections. Solutions include improved education, prevention, better nutrition, sanitized water and local economic development. We plan to apply Telehealth technologies to create a collaborative knowledge network and address these issues more efficiently.\u2

The Empirical Foundations of Telemedicine Interventions for Chronic Disease Management

The telemedicine intervention in chronic disease management promises to involve patients in their own care, provides continuous monitoring by their healthcare providers, identifies early symptoms, and responds promptly to exacerbations in their illnesses. This review set out to establish the evidence from the available literature on the impact of telemedicine for the management of three chronic diseases: congestive heart failure, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. By design, the review focuses on a limited set of representative chronic diseases because of their current and increasing importance relative to their prevalence, associated morbidity, mortality, and cost. Furthermore, these three diseases are amenable to timely interventions and secondary prevention through telemonitoring. The preponderance of evidence from studies using rigorous research methods points to beneficial results from telemonitoring in its various manifestations, albeit with a few exceptions. Generally, the benefits include reductions in use of service: hospital admissions/re-admissions, length of hospital stay, and emergency department visits typically declined. It is important that there often were reductions in mortality. Few studies reported neutral or mixed findings.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140284/1/tmj.2014.9981.pd

National Telemedicine Initiatives: Essential to Healthcare Reform

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78116/1/tmj.2009.9960.pd