Abstract
Background. Telemedicine can be defined as the use of electronic media for transmission of information and medical data from one site to another. The objective of this study is to demonstrate an experience of telemedicine in plastic surgery. Methods. 32 plastic surgeons received a link with password for real-time streaming of a surgery. At the end of the procedure, the surgeons attending the procedure by the Internet answered five questions. The results were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results. 27 plastic surgeons attended the online procedure in real-time. 96.3% considered the access to the website as good or excellent and 3.7% considered it bad. 14.8% reported that the transmission was bad and 85.2% considered the quality of transmission as good or excellent. 96.3% classified the live broadcasting as a good or excellent learning experience and 3.7% considered it a bad experience. 92.6% reported feeling able to perform this surgery after watching the demo and 7.4% did not feel able. 100% of participants said they would like to participate in other surgical demonstrations over the Internet. Conclusion. We conclude that the use of telemedicine can provide more access to education and medical research, for plastic surgeons looking for medical education from distant regions.
Highlights
Telemedicine can be defined as the use of electronic media for transmission of information and medical data from one site to another
It is a vague term which cover a wide range of topics, all concerning the delivery of health care at a distance, encompassing diagnosis and treatment of patients, education of staff, patients, and the general public, and administrative activities, such as collecting public health data, as well as research
After obtaining informed consent from the patient, and with the support of the Hospital Telemedicine Service, a demonstrative surgery was scheduled. 32 members of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery who wanted to see how this surgery was done were warned by e-mail 12 days in advance and received a link with password for real-time streaming
Summary
Telemedicine can be defined as the use of electronic media for transmission of information and medical data from one site to another It is a vague term which cover a wide range of topics, all concerning the delivery of health care at a distance, encompassing diagnosis and treatment of patients, education of staff, patients, and the general public, and administrative activities, such as collecting public health data, as well as research. All of these may be assisted by judicious use of telemedicine. We conclude that the use of telemedicine can provide more access to education and medical research, for plastic surgeons looking for medical education from distant regions
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