From Blogtelemedicina in our daily activity We met with professionals that put barriers to telemedicine. In some cases We assume it is due to ignorance or simply to the negative feel that we generate the changes in our lives.
In diariomedico.com website explain the issue with the interesting article called "Time to break down barriers of telemedicine.", Which refers to the four main barriers: cost, training, technology, rapidly changing and costly, and field legal-for example, how to assess the productivity for professionals.
First thing to note is that telemedicine is not a substitute for anything, just a supplement that it is used correctly and taking into account technological advances, We can bring greater efficiency and effectiveness of health resources, something to keep in mind and in the current environment where the global economic crisis may lead some governments to consider the cutbacks in Health Services.
Secondly, it is true that the costs of information systems is a barrier, but we must be aware that medical shipments also generate an expense in the health system, even in the case of transfer of the patient must always take into account all expenses saved to society, savings in the use of fossil fuels, taking into account the price at which they are is an important fact, saving days worked by family members to seek permission or absence from their jobs to accompany his family, etc. ,many of them difficult to calculate but which largely affect us all. It should also be noted that this cost will be more or less profitable depending on the use of such equipment, a telemedicine stations can be used for a teleconsultation as a pilot project or can be used to be a routine work in centers health and hospitals, making e-learning sessions in medical centers including universities, which will generate a better educated generation of professionals, perform teleconsultations with third countries with fewer resources, what We call solidarity telemedicine, which generates a higher social welfare globally.
In terms of technology it is true that the technology world moves a few steps and bounds, but this rule of three would never be the right time to make any technology investment. Anyway, today the world of videoconferencing has undergone a major standardization, which has led to devices from different manufacturers can be interconnected with each other without any problem using standard protocols of communication such as h264, h323, SIP, etc. .
Finally one of the barriers most often used is that of the legal, confidentiality of teleconsultation, which given the encryption of communications and the presence of health workers in both rooms we believe has the same level of confidentiality as traditional queries. Legal security of health professionals to medical diagnosis, given that the teleconsultation can be recorded and if we understand that during a teleconsultation in real time, usually are the specialist, primary care health workers and patients, we believe this fact gives greater security than traditional query where specialist and patient are alone in a closed room without the presence of another witness. And what about managing and controlling the work of professionals, teleconsultation can be programmed by quotas, generate medical reports and of course all information is stored in a database which can be so easy to get statistics use and productivity.
Our humble opinion is that all barriers to any event that We are easily surmountable if We all do a bit of will, that's what I consider essential if We want to exceed the level of telemedicine today and has become a reality the day to day in our health centers, there must be a willingness on the part of all the figures present in the health system, agencies must be willing to make an investment in equipment and material, as with any other issue, professionals must be willing to learn and use this new technology tool that puts in your hands to increase their ability to solve and Society at large must be willing to incorporate new technologies in a broader our day to day as the potential is unmatched, as happened in the moments of the Industrial Revolution, or any other key moment in history.
