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Telemedicine and International Disaster Response: Medical Consultation to Armenia and Russia Via a Telemedicine Spacebridge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Bruce A. Houtchens ,
Terry P. Clemmer ,
Harry C. Holloway ,
Alexander A. Kiselev ,
James S. Logan ,
Ronald C. Merrell ,
Arnauld E. Nicogossian ,
Haik A. Nikogossian ,
Russell B. Rayman  and
Ashot E. Sarkisian
...Show all authors
Bruce A. Houtchens*
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Terry P. Clemmer
Affiliation:
Director, Division of Critical Care, LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah
Harry C. Holloway
Affiliation:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.
Alexander A. Kiselev
Affiliation:
Director, Soyuzmedinform, Moscow, Russia, CIS
James S. Logan
Affiliation:
Space Medical Services, Tulsa, Okla.
Ronald C. Merrell
Affiliation:
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, Houston, Tex.
Arnauld E. Nicogossian
Affiliation:
Chief Medical Officer, Office of Space Flight, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Haik A. Nikogossian
Affiliation:
Office of the Director, Republic Diagniostic Center, Yerevan, Armenia, CIS
Russell B. Rayman
Affiliation:
Executive Vice President, Aerospace Medical Association, Alexandria, Va.
Ashot E. Sarkisian
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Republic Diagnostic Center, Yerevan, Armenia, CIS
John H. Siegel
Affiliation:
Director, New Jersey State Trauma Center, Chief, Section of Trauma Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, N.J.
*
Department of Surgery, University of Utah, 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132USA
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Abstract

Introduction:

The Telemedicine Spacebridge, a satellite-mediated, audio-video-fax link between four United States and two Armenian and Russian medical centers, permitted remote American consultants to assist Armenian and Russian physicians in the management of medical problems following the December 1988 earthquake in Armenia and the June 1989 gas explosion near Ufa.

Methods:

During 12 weeks of operations, 247 Armenian and Russian and 175 American medical professionals participated in 34 half-day clinical conferences. A total of 209 patients were discussed, requiring expertise in 20 specialty areas.

Results:

Telemedicine consultations resulted in altered diagnoses for 54, new diagnostic studies for 70, altered diagnostic processes for 47 and modified treatment plans for 47 of 185 Armenian patients presented. Simultaneous participation of several US medical centers was judged beneficial; quality of data transmission was judged excellent.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that interactive consultation by remote specialists can provide valuable assistance to on-site physicians and favorably influence clinical decisions in the aftermath of major disasters.

Keywords

Armeniaaudio-visualburn managementburnsdiagnostic imagingdisaster responseearthquakeepidemiologyhealth-careinfrastructure destructioninfectious diseaseinternationallaboratory diagnosticsmedical specialty consultationnatural gas explosionpsychiatric rehabilitationpsychological rehabilitationrehabilitationremoterenal failure managementRussiasatellite-mediated telecommunicationssurgeryteleconferencingtelemedicineTelemedicine Spacebridgetrain wrecktrauma managementUfa
Type
Special Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 1993 , pp. 57 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1993

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Footnotes

*

This paper was presented and discussed at the International Conference on Disaster Medicine, Moscow, U.S.S.R., 22–23 May 1990; International Symposium on Medical Aspects of Earthquake Consequences in Armenia, in Yerevan, Armenia, U.S.S.R., 9–11 October 1990; and Disaster Medicine Conference in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 9–12 December 1992.

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