JANUARY 1998 PRESS RELEASE
Diversified Telemedicine Services Emerge in 1997
Jacksonville, Oregon (January 5, 1998): Two of the more successful telemedicine applications identified in 1997 were overseas consulting and telefetal monitoring, both of which depend upon store-and-forward technologies. For well-established telemedicine programs operating in major medical centers, international consulting services often concentrate on the provision of second opinions to confirm diagnoses and treatment options. Patients and physicians in many countries are willing to pay for access to the level of expertise available from world-renowned U.S. facilities, which in turn benefit from greater utilization of highly-qualified specialists. For rural communities, the addition of even a modest telefetal monitoring system to send ultrasound images for analysis at a tertiary care center can result in higher retention of obstetric patients. For example, two operational programs (one in California and another in Utah) have brought obstetric transfer rates down to between 1% and 2% through the use of telemedicine-mediated consultations. The major benefit for the participating urban care center is higher referral rates for other patients, especially those requiring treatment for complex medical conditions.
For 1998, the overall level of clinical consultations using telemedicine networks is expected to grow significantly as more applications are added and as operational obstacles are overcome. Infusion of transmission rate subsidies for eligible rural health care networks through the Universal Services Fund will help offset this portion of monthly expenses (between $900 and $1,500 for many programs) and encourage greater usage. Meanwhile, normal growth in hospital-mediated teleradiology consults is being augmented by the establishment of commercial services which are likely to significantly expand the total number of cases involving this technology.
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