Telemedicine in haemodialysis: a university department and two remote satellites linked together as one common workplace

• Published in: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare
• Main Authors: Rumpsfeld, Markus, Arild, Eli, Norum, Jan, Breivik, Elin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2005
• Subjects: Hammerfest; North Norway
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1258/1357633054471885; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1258/1357633054471885

A common workplace was established between the renal unit at the University Hospital of North Norway and two satellite dialysis centres, in Alta and Hammerfest. A 2 Mbit/s ATM network was employed for IP-based videoconferencing. A common electronic medical record system and dialysis monitoring software were used. During an eight-month study period, nine patients were enrolled and 225 videoconferences were performed for daily visits and regular rounds. A bandwidth of 768 kbit/s was required for satisfactory teledialysis. Although technical (28%) and logistical problems (10%) were frequent, five hospitalizations and one-third of the planned visiting rounds were avoided. An economic analysis showed that annual savings amounted to US$46,613, while annual costs were US$79,489. Despite the technical difficulties in about 30% of conferences, the nurses were satisfied with the videoconferencing system. Digital X-rays were communicated without problems. The pilot study indicates that satellite units may be incorporated into the daily management at the central institution by telemedicine.