| Author/Editor | Breskvar, Marko; Bricl, Irena; Rožman, Primož; Meža, Marko; Tasič, Jurij | |
| Title | Uvedba telekonzultacij v transfuzijsko službo | |
| Translated title | Introduction of teleconsultations in the blood transfusion service | |
| Type | članek | |
| Source | Zdrav Vestn | |
| Vol. and No. | Letnik 77, št. Suppl 1 | |
| Publication year | 2008 | |
| Volume | str. I-177-82 | |
| Language | slo | |
| Abstract | Background By introducing telemedicine, we would like to provide support for a new organization of the Slovenian transfusion service to ensure a uniform quality of services throughout the country. We would like to increase safety and to enable professional consultations by means of modern technology during periods when no transfusion medicine specialist is present at the transfusion departments. Methods A system that enables teleconsultations between individual transfusion institutions requires a safe and coded network, equipment for the capturing and processing of multimedia data, a videoconferencing system, and links to individual professional environments. An apparatus (Gelscope) has been developed to capture and process digitized images of laboratory data obtained by testing according to the gel method. Teleconsultations are performed as special scenarios which essentially includes questions passed by the on-duty doctor and qualified replies of the transfusion medicine specialist that are sent from the consultation center. Results An effective transfusion service requires the provision of uninterrupted on-duty coverage (24 hours/7 days) for each transfusion institution. Through the use of a teleconsultation system, it is possible to reduce the number of on-duty transfusion specialists from 11 to only 2. Furthermore, the system ensures a uniform quality of transfusion services over the entire country. Validation of the pilot system has been completed and its results have shown that a transfusion’s services provided on a remote basis are equivalent in quality. Conclusions The teleconsultation system enables professional consultations via the use of modern technology. The implementation of this system will be continued and expanded from the current 4 system in use to 11 throughout Slovenia. The computer application is modular and it should also be suitable for use in other areas of medicine, such as emergency medicine, etc. | |
| Descriptors | BLOOD DONORS HEALTH SERVICES TELEMEDICINE REFERRAL AND CONSULTATION |