Let us consider the death of a person, determined by the effect of marginotomy, as a timely catastrophe; and the sudden death or disability as premature. It is obvious that, using such criteria, the diagnostic value of telemedicine becomes non-zero only in case of the prevention of a premature catastrophe.
Currently, our obviously underestimated estimates, by means of "Telecard" they give not less than 100 000 telemedicine consultations per year in Russia and Ukraine. Even if we assume that only one of hundreds transmitted electrocardiograms is really vital, and the probability of a correct decision on the provision of emergency assistance is 1/2, then not less than five hundred people a year do not give up the ghost or become disabled as a result of a timely remote diagnosis. Naturally, loss of the state decreases also - according to official data, about 15,000 USD per one person - a total of 15000х500=7.5 million cabbage annually.
Last years in Ukraine are marked with the long-awaited beginning of processes of healthcare system reformation, the program and trends of which are stated in the foundational documents...
More than four years have passed since the telemedical network of urgent ECG diagnosis “Telecard” was created and launched in Ukraine. Now this network covers all regions and all levels of health care.
This article is the third, which has become already traditional, overview of problems and achievements in the course of the “Telecard” network development. The material of this article is based on the data collected in the course of annual monitoring carried out by the initiative of the TREDEX LLC enterprise – the developer and manufacturer of the “Telecard” equipment.
R.V.Pavlovich (Ph.D.(Tech), Director of “TREDEX Company” LLC)
The most important task of health care in a civilized state, which contributes to the stability of the society, is ensuring the rights of a citizen on medical service regardless his or her social status and residence... However, while the problems of provisioning medical and prophylactic institutions with full-fledged financing, equipping with up-to-date equipment and other resources can be solved at least theoretically, it is impossible to staff each regional hospital with world-class specialists even in theory. Such problem can be solved only by introducing telemedical technologies into the practice of health care institutions.
(Concept of development of telemedical technologies in the Russian Federation; approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of RF No. 344/76 from August 27,2001)
Summary: «Telecard» - is a functionally complete part of medical diagnostic set «Tredex» (designed and manufactured by LLC «TREDEX Company», Kharkov), intended for transtelephone ECG consultations within the scope of telemedical approach to the creation of the system of urgent cardiological diagnosis. It has a number of undeniable advantages that distinguish it on the background of existing counterparts; ensures transmission of a digital synchronous standard 12-channel ECG over any distance by means of any voice communication channels (standard telephone lines, mobile phones, radio extenders of any model, portable and stationary radio stations, etc.)
In spite the progress in telemedicine, wide use of digital technologies and other achievements of data transfer systems, transtelephonic ECG up till now cannot compete with standard one as to its quality. Therefore it is supposed that an ECG transmitted via phone cannot be a valid document describing the electric activity of the patient’s heart. This widely spread opinion was undoubtedly correct and based on serious errors of transtelephonic electrocardiography that lover its diagnostic value.