Mobile teleconsulting is a viable way to assess remotely located stroke patients, although hospital-based landline systems still provide better quality communication, according to a study recently published in the journal Stroke, Reuters Health reports.
For the study, researchers compared the technical parameters and the acceptability and impact of immediate clinical decisions made through consultations performed with the mobile and landline devices.
Study Details
The study involved two stroke centers and 14 local hospitals in Germany.
Investigators analyzed telephone consultations performed at fixed telemedicine workstations utilizing high-speed Internet connections and laptops that could be taken to remote locations.
Study Findings
The teleconsultants said that the process took longer when laptops were used, despite similar download time measurements. In addition, they reported better video and audio quality with the hospital-based system.
The authors reported that although the technical quality of mobile communication was rated worse on both sides, "this did not affect the ability to make remote decisions like initiating thrombolysis," a stroke treatment. In addition, the mobile system was technically stable, according to the researchers.
"During times of low teleconsultation frequency, this service can be provided from home or from elsewhere," Heinrich Audebert of the Charite Universitatsmedizin in Berlin said. However, he added that the "technical quality of mobile teleconsultation is not equivalent to landline connections."
Audebert and colleagues point out that although mobile devices are viable in low-frequency circumstances, a hospital-based device would guarantee optimal quality when teleconsultation frequency is high.
Future
"Telemedicine for stroke care is only an instrument to make stroke expertise more available," Audebert said, adding that telemedicine cannot replace on-site, quality treatment.
"Therefore, a lot of specialized infrastructure, training and quality monitoring are needed in telemedicine networks," according to Audebert. He added that researchers are examining the use of telemedicine in pre-hospital stroke care, including in ambulances (Boggs, Reuters Health, 12/22).