Original Title: Telemedicinsk præhospital diagnostik af akutte hjertepatienter - et nyt IT-baseret koncept en medicinsk teknologivurdering

Authors' objectives: This report examines the consequences of introducing and applying telemedical technology for prehospital diagnosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms. The technology assessment covers technical, clinical, organisational, legal, economic and ethical aspects and how patients perceive the use of such technologies.

Authors' recommendations: The assessment concludes that any advantages, such as time saved, associated with a future use of telediagnostics are rooted in a hope that treatment may commence during ambulance transportation and any future decisions to launch treatment during transportation should hence rest on the results of ongoing research within this domain. Denmark enjoys the advantage of small geographical distances, and benefits in the form of time saved accrued by introduction of prehospital health technologies may therefore be modest. Furthermore, the main advantage of telediagnostics may lie mainly in the capacity to improve the diagnostic quality and hence the treatment of AMI patients. The introduction of telediagnostics will, however, make physical distance between the patient and the specialist a less important issue and it will allow specialist ECG assessment of the AMI patients acute symptoms to be obtained 24-hours-a-day. These aspects will determine if and how telemedical preshospital diagnostics will become a valuable adjunct in the future system of prehospital diagnostic and therapeutic management of AMI patients. Moreover, analysis of legal dimensions suggests that various aspects of the patients legal status and right to sue for damages need further elucidation. The present HTA aims to help establish a well-researched basis on which any future decision to introduce telemedical prehospital diagnostics for cardiac patients in Denmark may rest.

Authors' methods: Systematic review

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2002

URL for published report: https://www.sst.dk/da/Udgivelser/2002/Telemedicinsk-praehospital-diagnostik-af-akutte-hjertepatienter---et-nyt-IT-baseret-koncept-En-medic

English language abstract: There is no English language summary available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Denmark

Organisation Name: Danish Centre for Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment

Contact Address: National Board of Health, PO Box 1881, Islands Brygge 67, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. Tel: 45 72 22 74 48; Fax: 45 72 22 74 07/67

Contact Name: dacehta@sst.dk

Contact Email: dacehta@sst.dk

Copyright: Danish Centre for Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment (DACEHTA) (formerly DIHTA)