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Twenty years with the JTT
(Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare)
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - December 9, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Wootton, R. Tags: LEADER/Editorial Source Type: research

The costs and benefits of technology-enabled, home-based cardiac rehabilitation measured in a randomised controlled trial
We conducted a cost benefit analysis of a home telehealth-based cardiac rehabilitation programme compared to the standard hospital-based programme. A total of 120 participants were enrolled in a trial, with 60 randomised to the telehealth group and 60 randomised to usual care. Participants in the telehealth group received a mobile phone, Wellness Diary and a Wellness web portal, with daily text messaging. Participants in the usual care group received the standard 6-week hospital-based outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programme, including gym sessions. The cost of delivery by telehealth was slightly lower than for patients...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Whittaker, F., Wade, V. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Experience with scaling up the Victorian Stroke Telemedicine programme
Telemedicine can be used to increase access to stroke thrombolysis in rural hospitals but is not widely used for this purpose in Australia. The Victorian Stroke Telemedicine (VST) programme commenced in one hospital in 2011, and is being expanded to a further 15 hospitals. The present study summarises progress in scaling up the VST programme from one to four hospitals. Patient and clinical consultation quantitative data obtained from 1 March 2014 until 30 June 2014 were reviewed. By August 2014, the VST programme was operational at the four hospital sites. During the period 1 March 2014 to 30 June 2014, a total of 42 patie...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Cadilhac, D. A., Vu, M., Bladin, C. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

A review of the efficacy and effectiveness of using telehealth for paediatric speech and language assessment
We reviewed the literature relating to the use of telehealth for paediatric speech and language assessment. Four databases, and relevant reference lists, were searched for articles published between January 2004 and July 2014. A total of 180 articles were identified, of which only five were relevant. All studies assessed efficacy using method comparison techniques; no studies assessed effectiveness. The method comparison studies investigated the validity and/or reliability of speech and language assessment via telehealth, when compared with face-to-face assessment. Studies varied in terms of participant group, assessment t...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Taylor, O. D., Armfield, N. R., Dodrill, P., Smith, A. C. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

A review of paediatric telehealth for pre- and post-operative surgical patients
The Queensland Telepaediatric Service (QTS) was established in the year 2000 to deliver a broad range of paediatric specialist health services from the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) in Brisbane, mainly via videoconference. During a 13-year study period, the QTS facilitated 18,949 video consultations, comprising Mental Health (42%), Medicine (30%), Surgery (21%) and Other (8%). We reviewed the surgical services provided through the QTS. There were 3880 video consultations with a paediatric surgeon. Most of these (91%) used fixed videoconferencing units, 8% were delivered via mobile units (robots) and 1% were deliver...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Smith, A. C., Garner, L., Caffery, L. J., McBride, C. A. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

A transferable telepsychiatry model for improving access to emergency mental health care
The Mental Health Emergency Care-Rural Access Programme (MHEC) aims to improve access to specialist emergency mental health care in rural and remote communities in New South Wales. It provides a range of services including emergency telephone triage and video assessment. The present report provides a detailed description of the structure and function of the MHEC model, and identifies matters concerning adaptation and transferability. Structure: the MHEC can be contacted 24 hours/day, every day of the year; no caller is refused assistance. Function: the MHEC provides information services, clinical services and other program...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Saurman, E., Johnston, J., Hindman, J., Kirby, S., Lyle, D. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Data review of an ongoing telehealth programme in a tertiary paediatric hospital
The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne has been providing teleconsultations since 2011 using web-based videoconferencing. We reviewed telehealth activity over the first 30 months of the programme. The average consultation rate was 14 per month in 2012, 39 in 2013 and 49 per month in the first half of 2014. One-third of all activity (265 out of 852 consultations) was provided by only two departments: neurology and respiratory medicine. By June 2014, 92% of departments (n = 34) had provided one or more video-consultations. Most telehealth activity was provided by just a few clinicians. A review of actual and billed...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Jury, S. C., Kornberg, A. J. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Clinical applications of videoconferencing: a scoping review of the literature for the period 2002-2012
We conducted a scoping review of the literature on the clinical applications of videoconferencing. Electronic searches were performed using the PubMed, Embase and CINHAL databases to retrieve papers published from 2002 to 2012 that described clinical applications of videoconferencing. The initial search yielded 4923 records and after removing the duplicates and screening at title/abstract level, 505 articles met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed at full-text level. The countries with the highest number of papers were the US, Australia and Canada. Most studies were non-randomised controlled trials. The discipline wit...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Fatehi, F., Armfield, N. R., Dimitrijevic, M., Gray, L. C. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Telerehabilitation for older people using off-the-shelf applications: acceptability and feasibility
We investigated the feasibility of providing telerehabilitation in the home as an alternative to conventional ambulatory rehabilitation. Two groups of patients were accepted for telerehabilitation. The first group were community patients who needed rehabilitation, e.g. following a stroke, a fracture or prolonged hospital admission. The second group was from two rural nursing homes where residents were identified with a recent injury, fall or hospitalisation. Telerehabilitation employed a coaching model, with fewer therapist home visits, more feedback and "homework" for the patient. Patients had a tablet computer loaded wit...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Crotty, M., Killington, M., van den Berg, M., Morris, C., Taylor, A., Carati, C. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Generating new telehealth services using a whole of community approach: experience in regional Queensland
We implemented a community telehealth project in the three towns in the Darling Downs area of Queensland over a 2-year period starting in July 2012. The purpose of the project was to generate telehealth activity in hospitals, general practice and selected residential aged care facilities. Telehealth education and training was provided to clinicians in the three towns and a community awareness campaign was delivered using advertisements in newspapers, messages in social media and presentations at community events. A total of 55 stakeholders were engaged with during 61 site visits to health care facilities during the first t...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Smith, A. C., Caffery, L. J., Saunders, R., Bradford, N. K., Gray, L. C. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Principles of a paediatric palliative care consultation can be achieved with home telemedicine
Discussion about pain and anorexia were significantly more common in the telemedicine group. Discussion about follow up was significantly more common in the telemedicine group (86% vs 56%), whilst resuscitation planning was more common in deteriorating patients receiving inpatient care. All other components and principles of a palliative care consultation were documented equally regardless of method of consultation. The findings confirm that palliative consultations via telemedicine are just as effective as face-to-face consultations in terms of the documented components of the consultation. (Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare)
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Bradford, N. K., Armfield, N. R., Young, J., Herbert, A., Mott, C., Smith, A. C. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Multi-site videoconferencing for home-based education of older people with chronic conditions: the Telehealth Literacy Project
We examined the acceptability of multi-site videoconferencing as a method of providing group education to older people in their homes. There were 9 groups comprising 52 participants (mean age 73 years) with an average of four chronic conditions. Tablet computers or PCs were installed in participant’s homes and connected to the Internet by the National Broadband Network (high-speed broad band network) or by the 4G wireless network. A health literacy and self-management programme was delivered by videoconference for 5 weeks. Participants were able to view and interact with all group members and the facilitator on their...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - November 16, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Banbury, A., Parkinson, L., Nancarrow, S., Dart, J., Gray, L., Buckley, J. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Use of mobile phones as a tool for weight loss: a systematic review
We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the use of mobile phones for weight loss. A total of 43 studies were identified on obese or overweight adults, aged 18 years or over. After review, ten articles met the inclusion criteria. There were 19–534 participants per study. Participants were from European, Asian and North American regions. The mean body mass index (BMI) of the subjects varied from 22 to 36 kg/m2. Two studies used text messaging or multimedia messaging. All the other studies used mobile-phone apps or web-based programmes that could be accessed from mobile phones as a part of a weight-loss in...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - August 8, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Aguilar-Martinez, A., Sole-Sedeno, J. M., Mancebo-Moreno, G., Medina, F. X., Carreras-Collado, R., Saigi-Rubio, F. Tags: RESEARCH/Systematic review Source Type: research

An economic analysis of a nurse-led telephone triage service
We examined whether compliance with nurse recommendations was associated with lower average health care expenditure, and identified the employer characteristics associated with higher than average savings. Telephone calls to a nurse-led help line made by commercial health plan members who worked for large employers were identified. The callers’ intention before calling and the nurse recommendation regarding site/level of care were recorded. Compliance was determined using medical claims during a 30-day post-call observation period and was based on adherence to nurse recommendations. A total of 132,509 calls during 20...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - August 8, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Navratil-Strawn, J. L., Ozminkowski, R. J., Hartley, S. K. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research

Use of a mental health emergency care-rural access programme in emergency departments
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) are common providers of emergency mental health care. Access to specialist expertise can affect and improve patient outcomes. The Mental Health Emergency Care-Rural Access Programme (MHEC) provides access to mental health specialists for rural and remote communities in western New South Wales. In 2011, 46 of the 48 EDs used the MHEC programme, which provided 1487 clinical services, an average of 29 services per week. This represented 60% of all MHEC activity. A video assessment was conducted during 571 (38%) of these MHEC contacts. Patients attending a non-base hospital (<50 beds) we...
Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - August 8, 2014 Category: Information Technology Authors: Saurman, E., Lyle, D., Kirby, S., Roberts, R. Tags: RESEARCH/Original articles Source Type: research