In this post I would like to introduce the application of Mobile Telemedicine Vehicle (MTV). MTV provides an effective alternative to provide medical care when accessing to hospitals is not convenient or unavailable. MTV is another area where business and ICT could come together to increase the quality of healthcare.
One example in of MTV in the use for emergency and natural disaster response is the one designed by Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) and the United States Army (the Army)1. It is aimed to provide high quality medical care to civilians in the case where normal hospital services were not available due to situations such as terrorist attack or earthquake1.
The MTV from LLUMC was equipped with highly sophisticated care and telecommunication technologies and devices such as satellite system and telemedicine connectivity1. In this way the MTV is able to provide real-time data transfer without the dependence on land-based communications1. Also the vehicle has medical equipment, such as x-rays, vital statistics, and live video, by which doctors off-site could provide necessary care to patients whose data could be sent real-time from the MTV1. In addition, the MTV from LLUMC also was designed to have off-road capabilities, built on the Mercedes-Benz chassis by UNICAT1.
The following video provides more details about the MTV from LLUMC:
The second area of application of MTV is to provide easier access to high quality healthcare services. The MTV recently acquired by Kaiser Permanente (KP), a leading healthcare provider, is a good example in this field2. The goal is to provide greater coverage of healthcare services to the Kaiser Permanent members on the home island of Hawaii, the Big Island2.
With the installation of Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect, KP’s signature electronic health record system, the MTV is expected to serve about 12,000 Hawaii residents2. It would allow KP the mobile team to access to member health care data on a real-time basis2. Also, women on the Big Island would have access to the latest breast cancer detection technology, thanks to a digital mammography unit equipped on the MTV that would transfer real-time patient data to doctors in KP hospitals2. In addition, residence on the Big Island could receive healthcare services such as urinalysis, gonorrhea and chlamydia testing, cholesterol, glucose and waive testing, and immunization services2.
The following are the pictures of the MTV and the equipment installed on it:
These two examples imply that telemedicine could have multiple layers of technology. Traditionally telemedicine is only accessible from remote stationary health centers or from patient homes. Then one layer of telecommunication technologies, such as mobile phones and video conferences could link the patient site with doctors in distant hospitals where advanced healthcare treatment and consultation could be delivered to the patients. In the case of MTV, telemedicine was made possible by the layer of telecommunication technologies on top of mobility technologies. It even further increased the value of telemedicine in the sense that patients now do not have to travel to get quality healthcare. For example, in the case of an earthquake, patients with limited mobility could stay where they are to get quality treatment from MTVs. Also, another example would be in a flu pandemic case. Instead of going to hospitals with the potential to increase Hospital Associated Infections (HAI) cases or to risk the health of nurses and doctors, patients could stay in their homes or communities to be treated by mobile healthcare staff on MTVs. In this way, the pandemic could be better controlled because of the reduced mobility of infected patients.
The combination of telemedicine and transportation could be taken further to concepts such as “Mobile Telemedicine Helicopters”. It could be of special use in natural disasters where ground transportation is not possible.
In conclusion, the potential of telemedicine could be fully realized when creatively combined and enabled by other technologies.
References:
1. http://lomalindahealth.org/medical-center/for-health-professionals/center-for-prehospital-care/care/mobile-telemedicine-vehicle.page
2. http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter/pressreleases/nat/2009/061109hawaiimobilehealth.html
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