Summary
- A teleradiology pilot project was conducted by Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Camperdown, and Nepean Hospital, Sydney, a distance of 48 km.
- 575 paediatric X-rays at full resolution were transmitted over a three-month period.
- The results demonstrated that it was possible to transmit paediatric chest images of diagnostic quality in a reliable and secure manner. The images were transmitted in an average time of 3.2 minutes per image, which was considered to be an acceptable level of service.
- Costs were analysed in terms of transmission, equipment, maintenance and staff components. The results indicated that the cost per image transmitted would vary from $83.44 for 2,500 images per year to $34.00 for 10,000 images per year.
- Experience with the pilot study suggested that the introduction of secure high quality paediatric telemedicine into the Australian health communications network is feasible. Adoption of such technology would have major implications for paediatric health care, including improvements in patient management due to a quicker diagnosis and earlier intervention, and savings through avoiding transfer of some emergency cases.