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Tromsø Telemedicine and eHealth Conference 2006:
Telemedicine reduces hospital admissions
- "The objective of the study was to clarify and present the greatest benefits resulting from the use of telemedicine in Norway. We have reviewed the available documentation regarding both services in routine operation and time-limited projects, and present the results of the review in our report," explains project manager Elin Johnsen at the NST.
Cost-effectiveness depends on numbers
- "The project results show that the number of consultations or users of telemedicine determines how cost-effective it is," says Elin Breivik, who has looked at the economic aspects of the project.
The project also shows that telemedicine saves time for health professionals and reduces travel expenses. Other findings were that telemedicine reduced hospital admissions and saved postage and paper costs.
EPR and messaging
Benefits from the introduction of electronic patient records (EPR) and messaging include less duplication of effort and fewer errors. Resources are freed up, routines are simplified and communication is faster.
Undiscovered potential
According to Elin Johnsen, the project results are based only on documented studies.
- "However, this does not exclude the potential for other advantages from the use of telemedicine and eHealth. They have just not been documented yet," she points out.
External factors
- "Many external factors affect the realization of telemedicine benefits. The services may benefit one enterprise or municipality, while the same services do not provide the same advantages in another enterprise or municipality. This may be related to geographical factors, population figures, or similar considerations. These factors are difficult to control, and can thus lead to varying results," she says.
Fewer hospital admissions, time savings for health professionals and reduced travel expenses are among the benefits found by researchers Elin Breivik and Elin Johnsen from the NST in a study on telemedicine in Norway
Photo: Jarl-Stian Olsen, Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine
Facts about TTeC 2006:
The Tromsø Telemedicine and eHealth Conference takes place from 12-14 June 2006.
This is the sixth time that the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine in Tromsø has organized the conference, which this year gathered 350 participants from 29 countries for three days. This year's eHealth conference focuses on how modern technology can shape the future health service.
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