JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Telemedicine is conceived as physicians who manage and treat patients remotely. However, transversal telemedicine practice also exists among healthcare professionals (HCPs). We present details of our telemedicine practice among HCPs in the last 10 years. A web-based informatic platform was developed, with a continuously updated hypertext built using advanced technology with the following features: security, data insertion, dedicated software for image analysis, and exporting of data for statistical surveys. Customizable files called “modules” were designed and built-in for different fields of medicine, mainly in ophthalmology subspecialty. Each module was employed by HCPs with different authorization profiles. Each project was evaluated in terms of access, acceptability, and medical efficacy. The twelve most representative modules for the different purposes are presented in this manuscript. These modules evolved over time, with varying degrees of interconnectivity, involving several centres in 19 cities across Italy. The number of HCPs involved to use each single module ranged from 6 to 114 (average 21.8). Data related to 2574 subjects were inserted into all modules. The average percentage of data entered in the text/image fields in overall 12 modules was 65.7%. In their final evaluation, participants judged the modules to be good. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of the telemedicine platform for HCPs in terms of improved knowledge in medicine, patient care, choice of therapies, scientific research, and teaching. It would be useful to start similar projects across the various fields of medicine, considering that, in the near future, medicine as we know will completely change.