Page 81 - Hospital Authority Convention 2017
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Symposiums



                S2.1      Tele-medicine                                                     13:15  Theatre 1

               The Application of Tele-medicine in the Virtual Doctor Programme
               Thompson M
               Portslade Health Centre, UK                                                                         HOSPITAL AUTHORITY CONVENTION 2017
               What is tele-medicine? What is tele-health? E-health? M-health? What are their applications? What are the pitfalls to their
               applications? We look at the history of tele-medicine, its development in recent years, evidence relating to its application and
               our own experience of developing a service in Zambia and its potential.

































                S2.2      Tele-medicine                                                     13:15  Theatre 1       Tuesday, 16 May

               Tele-medicine Consultation in Castle Peak Hospital for Stable Psychiatric Outpatients in Custody
               Cheng KM
               Department of General Adult Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong

               Background
               In Hong Kong, persons in custody receive primary medical care within the institutions of the Correctional Services
               Department (CSD). Nevertheless, they need to attend psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics (SOPCs) of the Hospital
               Authority for their mental problems. All along, these patients have to be escorted by CSD staff to attend follow-up at
               psychiatric SOPCs. For security reasons, they have to be escorted by at least two CSD staff and be handcuffed on every
               occasion. Such an exposing arrangement inevitably causes much embarrassment and stigmatisation. Furthermore, other
               patients in the SOPC may also feel uncomfortable seeing such a scene. To address the above problems, this study aims at
               assessing the benefits of using tele-medicine consultation for a group of stable psychiatric outpatients in custody.

               Methodology
               Eighty six stable outpatients in custody fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for tele-medicine
               consultations in CPH from June 2014 to May 2016. They were compared with 249 matched outpatients in custody attending
               the usual face-to-face consultations at other SOPCs. Baseline characteristics, difference in General Health Questionnaire
               scores before and after consultations (PrePost GHQ), the correlation of PrePost GHQ between the first and second tele-
               medicine consultation sessions, patient satisfaction, significant adverse events and cost analysis were measured. Data were
               analysed by U-test and Pearson correlation.

               Results and Outcomes
               Compared with the standard consultation group, the tele-medicine group showed a significantly better result in the
               PrePost GHQ (Z = -2.268, p = 0.023). The correlation between the first and second tele-medicine sessions also showed a
               moderate positive relationship (r = 0.406, p = 0.029). The satisfaction survey showed a favourable response to tele-medicine
               consultations. No significant adverse events were identified. An average of $1,850 escort cost was saved for each tele-
               medicine consultation. The results suggested that tele-medicine consultation is a promising alternative for stable outpatients
               in custody.



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