International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications最新文献

{"title":"Ensemble Classification Model With CFS-IGWO-Based Feature Selection for Cancer Detection Using Microarray Data.","authors":"Pinakshi Panda, Sukant Kishoro Bisoy, Sandeep Kautish, Reyaz Ahmad, Asma Irshad, Nadeem Sarwar","doi":"10.1155/2024/4105224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/4105224","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer is the top cause of death worldwide, and machine learning (ML) has made an indelible mark on the field of early cancer detection, thereby lowering the death toll. ML-based model for cancer diagnosis is done using two forms of data: gene expression data and microarray data. The data on gene expression levels includes many dimensions. When dealing with data with a high dimension, the efficiency of an ML-based model is decreased. Microarray data is distinguished by its high dimensionality with a greater number of features and a smaller sample size. In this work, two ensemble techniques are proposed using majority voting technique and weighted average technique. Correlation feature selection (CFS) is used for feature selection, and improved grey wolf optimizer (IGWO) is used for feature optimization. Support vector machines (SVMs), multilayer perceptron (MLP) classification, logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), adaptive boosting (AdaBoost) classifier, extreme learning machines (ELMs), and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) are used as classifiers. The results of each distinct base learner were then combined using weighted average and majority voting ensemble methods. Accuracy (ACC), specificity (SPE), sensitivity (SEN), precision (PRE), Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC), and F1-score (F1-S) are used to assess the performance. Our result shows that majority voting achieves better performance than the weighted average ensemble technique.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"4105224"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11502127/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142510129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of Step Tracker Mobile Applications for the Promotion of Physical Activity by Adolescents Based on Their Weight Status.","authors":"Cristina M Ponce-Ramírez, Adrián Mateo-Orcajada, Lucía Abenza-Cano, Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal","doi":"10.1155/2024/8038334","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/8038334","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The objectives of the present study were to analyze the adherence of normal weight and overweight/obese adolescents to intervention with mobile applications; to establish the differences in the evaluation of the mobile application and in the problematic use of the mobile phone between normal weight and overweight/obese adolescents; and to determine the relationship between the distance travelled, the evaluation of the mobile applications, and the conflictive use of the mobile phone. A quasi-experimental design was carried out with the participation of 70 adolescents between 12 and 16 years old (mean age: 14.25 ± 1.23 years old; 38 normal weight and 32 overweight/obese). The adolescents completed a 10-week intervention in which they used step tracker mobile applications for the promotion of physical activity, a minimum of three times per week. Problematic mobile phone use and adolescent ratings of the application used were measured. The results showed no significant differences in adolescents' adherence to the intervention according to the mobile application used (<i>p</i> = 0.191) or weight status (<i>p</i> = 0.202). In addition, significant differences were not found in the assessment of mobile applications within the group of overweight and obese adolescents: engagement (<i>p</i> = 0.471), functionality (<i>p</i> = 0.319), aesthetics (<i>p</i> = 0.378), information (<i>p</i> = 0.184), usability (<i>p</i> = 0.154), or perceived impact (<i>p</i> = 0.139), although differences were found in the assessment made by normal-weight adolescents in information (<i>p</i> = 0.029), usability (<i>p</i> = 0.029), and perceived impact (<i>p</i> = 0.044), where Pacer had better scores than Pokémon Go in the first two dimensions. No greater problematic mobile phone use was found after the intervention according to weight status (<i>p</i> = 0.311) nor the mobile application used (<i>p</i> = 0.985). It can be concluded that there is similar adherence among normal weight and overweight/obese adolescents to interventions with mobile applications to promote physical activity. It is noteworthy that adolescents, regardless of weight status, showed a positive perception towards the use of these mobile applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"8038334"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11459943/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142394135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental Factors for Sustained Telehealth Use in Mental Health Services: A Mixed Methods Analysis.","authors":"Benjamin Werkmeister, Anne M Haase, Theresa Fleming, Tara N Officer","doi":"10.1155/2024/8835933","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2024/8835933","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background:</b> The mental health service delivery gap remains high globally. Appropriate telehealth use may increase capacity through flexible remote care provision. Despite the historical lack of telehealth integration into publicly funded mental health services, during COVID-19 lockdowns, services rapidly switched to telephone and audiovisual care provision. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), this was abandoned when no longer required by COVID-19 restrictions. This study explores environmental factors associated with telehealth implementation and ongoing use or discontinuation across a multiregional outpatient mental health service. This work contributes to understanding system-level factors influencing telehealth use and thus informs policy and practice in postpandemic environments. <b>Methods:</b> This mixed methods study applied an interpretive description methodology. Semistructured interviews with 33 mental health clinicians were thematically analysed. Qualitative findings were reframed and evaluated using time series analyses of population-level quantitative data (prior to and throughout the pandemic). Findings were synthesised with qualitative themes to develop an understanding of environmental factors contributing to telehealth use. <b>Results:</b> Findings highlighted an increase in clients assessed by mental health services and declining clinician numbers, contributing to pressure placed on clinicians. There was a lack of culture supporting telehealth, including limited awareness, leadership, and champions to facilitate implementation. Some teams provided services suited to telehealth; other subspeciality teams had limited applications for telehealth. There was a general lack of policy and guidelines to support telehealth use and limited technical support for clinicians unfamiliar with audiovisual software. <b>Conclusion:</b> Disorganised telehealth adoption in the study regions provides insight into wider environmental drivers affecting telehealth uptake. For telehealth to become a workable service delivery mode following COVID-19, stewardship and culture shifts are required, including policy development, technical support, and resources to support clinical teams. Telehealth may address growing service demand by improving interfaces with primary care and providing timely access to specialist input.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"8835933"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11419844/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142308740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors Influencing Public Attitudes and Willingness to Utilize Telepharmacy Services in the UAE.","authors":"Anan S Jarab, Walid Al-Qerem, Tareq Mukattash, Ahmad Al-Azayzih, Zelal Kharaba, Shrouq Abu Heshmeh, Joud Al-Momani, Rama Hamdan, Yazid N Al Hamarneh, Judith Eberhardt","doi":"10.1155/2024/5755493","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2024/5755493","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background:</b> Telepharmacy, utilizing telecommunications to dispense pharmaceutical products and deliver patient care, offers numerous benefits for both the public and pharmacists. Previous research on exploring attitudes and willingness to use telepharmacy services has primarily focused on pharmacists rather than the general population. <b>Aim:</b> This study is aimed at assessing the attitudes and willingness of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population to utilize telepharmacy services and identifying the factors influencing their inclination to use these services. <b>Methods:</b> In this cross-sectional study, a survey was distributed using convenience and snowball sampling to individuals aged 18 or older across the UAE through various social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. The survey domains included sociodemographics, attitudes, and readiness to utilize a telepharmacy service. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the variables associated with participants' willingness to utilize telepharmacy in the future. <b>Results:</b> In total, 963 individuals participated in the study. Participants showed overall positive attitudes towards telepharmacy, with 70.9% believing that telepharmacy saved time and effort. While only 32% of the participants acknowledged that numerous telepharmacy services were available for use in the UAE, most were interested in using telepharmacy services in the future (79.2%). Participants who had higher attitude scores (AOR = 1.147, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11-1.18) and those who had used these services previously (AOR = 3.270, 95% CI: 1.692-6.320) were more interested in using telepharmacy services in the future. <b>Conclusion:</b> Forthcoming healthcare strategies should focus on expanding the availability of telepharmacy services throughout various regions of the country. This expansion will facilitate the broader utilization of these services and ultimately contribute to improved health outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"5755493"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11347028/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142074241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Functional and Nonfunctional Requirements of Virtual Clinic Mobile Applications: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Zahra Parsaei, Majid Jangi, Shahram Tahmasebian, Asghar Ehteshami","doi":"10.1155/2024/7800321","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2024/7800321","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction:</b> The Virtual Clinic Mobile Application (VCMA) is a valuable tool for managing and remotely monitoring patients with various medical conditions. It can alleviate the strain on outpatient services and offer follow-up options for patients who do not require a physical examination. A thorough understanding of recent literature can assist in identifying suitable functionalities for new development and future improvement of current applications (apps). This review study is aimed at identifying functional and nonfunctional requirements for VCMA. <b>Methods:</b> This study conducted a systematic search using databases such as PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, ProQuest, and IEEE to gather requirements of VCMA articles published in English from the inception of the databases up to April 2022. Out of a total of 1223 articles, 76 met the inclusion criteria. These articles were then analyzed using conventional content analysis to extract and categorize their requirements. <b>Results:</b> Two main themes and 8 subthemes in terms of VCMA requirements were extracted as follows: (1) functional requirements with 3 subthemes (demographic data documentation, health record, general features of the user interface (UI)); (2) nonfunctional requirements with 5 subthemes (usability, accessibility, compatibility, efficiency, and security). <b>Conclusion:</b> The findings highlight the importance of mHealth solutions for virtual care and the need for the development of apps based on the extracted functional and nonfunctional requirements for VCMA; however, controlled trials are necessary. It is recommended that transparent reporting of mHealth interventions be prioritized to enable effective interpretation of the extracted data.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"7800321"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11186682/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141427920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Barriers and Facilitators Experienced During the Implementation of Web-Based Teleradiology System in Public Hospitals of the Northwest Ethiopia: An Interpretive Description Study.","authors":"Araya Mesfin Nigatu, Tesfahun Melese Yilma, Lemma Derseh Gezie, Yonathan Gebrewold, Monika Knudsen Gullslett, Shegaw Anagaw Mengiste, Binyam Tilahun","doi":"10.1155/2024/5578056","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2024/5578056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction:</b> Teleradiology allows distant facilities to electronically transmit images for interpretation, thereby bridging the radiology service gap between urban and rural areas. The technology improves healthcare quality, treatment options, and diagnostic accuracy. However, in low resource settings like Ethiopia, teleradiology services are limited, posing challenges for implementation. Therefore, this study is aimed at exploring the factors that facilitated or hindered the implementation of web-based teleradiology in the public hospitals of the South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. <b>Methods:</b> In this study, a purposive sampling method was employed to select seventeen participants, including hospital managers, physicians, emergency surgeons, and radiologists, for an in-depth interview (IDI). The interviews were conducted from March to May 2023. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted using an abductive coding technique at the semantic/explicit level. Data were collected through semistructured interviews conducted face-to-face and virtually, with audio recordings transcribed, translated, and analyzed using Open Code version 4.02 software. Trustworthiness was ensured through prolonged engagement, reflective journaling, and review by coauthors. <b>Results:</b> The study examined eight main themes, with barriers to sustainable teleradiology implementation falling into five categories: technological, organizational, environmental, individual, and workflow and communication. Conversely, identified facilitators included improved radiology service efficiency, system accessibility, collaboration opportunities, and user trust in the radiology ecosystem. Within each theme, factors with potential impacts on teleradiology system sustainability were identified, such as the lack of system handover mechanisms, absence of a central image consultation center, and inadequate staffing of full-time radiologists and technical personnel. <b>Conclusions:</b> The study highlights the positive user perception of a web-based teleradiology system's user-friendliness and efficiency. Overcoming challenges and leveraging facilitators are crucial for optimizing teleradiology and improving service delivery and patient outcomes. A centralized consultation center with dedicated radiologists and technical personnel is recommended for maximizing efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"5578056"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11178418/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141332185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Telehealth and Technology for Diabetes in Pregnancy Clinics: Staff Perspectives from South Auckland, New Zealand.","authors":"Megan Singhal, Charlotte Oyston","doi":"10.1155/2024/6429519","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2024/6429519","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Providing care for patients with diabetes in pregnancy (DiP) provides unique challenges beyond those faced in standard antenatal care or diabetes outside of pregnancy. Teleclinics (use of telephone, email, or other technologies) as an alternative to in-person clinic appointments have become more widely used for care since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand how teleclinics might be improved for ongoing use, it is important to understand the experiences and perceptions of the clinicians involved in DiP care. <i>Aim</i>. To understand staff experiences of DiP teleclinics and gain their perspectives on if and how teleclinics and other technologies might be best used in the future. <i>Methods</i>. A qualitative study using semistructured interviews of healthcare providers in a large DiP service. Twenty staff members (midwifery, obstetrics, physician, dietician, and administration) were approached to participate. Fifteen staff across 5 specialties consented to be interviewed. Template analysis of interview transcripts was performed, with a focus on 3 themes: collaboration and working together are important for providing care for DiP, a need for flexibility in scheduling and the ability to individualise the way care is provided, and challenges to adapting to new technology. <i>Results</i>. Potential benefits of teleclinics were acknowledged, but respondents also viewed teleclinics as not suitable for all DiP patients due to different needs and risks. Challenges to using teleclinics include establishing good rapport and the current limited infrastructure and patient resources. <i>Conclusion</i>. Healthcare providers viewed teleclinics as a way of supporting rather than replacing current care. Maintaining flexibility in clinic scheduling to allow incorporation of teleclinics into patient's current schedule of visits <i>ad hoc</i> and providing extra technical and administrative support are important considerations for developing a teleclinic service.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"6429519"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10957257/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140185960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High Diagnostic Accuracy of Long-Term Electrocardiogram Interpretation by General Practitioners.","authors":"Jarle Jortveit, Miroslav Boskovic, Edvard Liljedahl Sandberg, Jonas Vegsundvåg, Sigrun Halvorsen","doi":"10.1155/2024/6624344","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2024/6624344","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Traditional long-term ECG monitoring systems have primarily been used by cardiologist. New remote and wearable easy-to-use devices have led to increased use of ECG recordings also outside cardiology clinics. The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of interpretation of the one-lead ECG recordings from a patch ECG device (ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor system) by general practitioners (GP).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Norwegian GPs were invited to digitally assess 10 long-term ECG recordings with different arrhythmias performed by the ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor system. For all ECG examinations, the presence/absence of different arrhythmias was registered.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 40 GPs accepted the invitation and assessed all the 10 long-term ECG recordings. All the tests were assessed as interpretable by all the GPs. Arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation/flutter, supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular tachycardia) were correctly identified in most cases, with sensitivity of 98% (95% CI 95-99%), specificity of 75% (95% CI 68-82%), and diagnostic accuracy of 89% (85-92%). Incorrect automatic system algorithm interpretations were rarely corrected by the GPs.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>GPs interpreted one-lead recordings by the ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor system with high diagnostic accuracy for common arrhythmias. However, in cases with rare arrhythmias, we recommend consulting a cardiologist to confirm the diagnosis before treatment is initiated. This trial is registered with NCT04700865.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"6624344"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10904176/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139997817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feasibility of Leveraging Consumer Wearable Devices with Data Platform Integration for Patient Vital Monitoring in Low-Resource Settings.","authors":"Elsie Effah Kaufmann, Richmond Tackie, J Benjamin Pitt, Samuel Mba, Bismark Akwetey, Danielle Quaye, Godfrey Mills, Clement Nyame, Henry Bulley, Matthew Glucksberg, Hassan Ghomrawi, William Appeadu-Mensah, Fizan Abdullah","doi":"10.1155/2024/8906413","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2024/8906413","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Manual monitoring of vital signs, which often fails to capture the onset of deterioration, is the main monitoring modality in most Ghanaian hospitals due to the high cost and inadequate supply of patient bedside monitors. Consumer wearable devices (CWDs) are emerging, relatively low-cost technologies for continuous monitoring of physiological status; however, their validity has not been established in low-resource clinical settings. We aimed to (1) investigate the validity of the heart rate (HR) and oxygen saturation (SpO2) data from two widely used CWDs, the Fitbit Versa 2 and Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6, against gold standard bedside monitors in one Ghanaian hospital and (2) develop a web application to capture and display CWD data in a clinician-friendly way. A healthy volunteer simultaneously wore both CWDs and blood pressure cuffs to measure HR and SpO2. To test for concordance, we conducted the Bland-Altman and mean absolute percentage error analyses. We also developed a web application that retrieves and displays CWD data in near real time as text and graphical trends. Compared to gold standards (patient monitor and manual), the Fitbit Versa 2 had 96.87% and 96.67% measurement accuracies for HR, and the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 had 94.24% and 93.21% measurement accuracies for HR. The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 had 98.79% measurement accuracy for SpO2. The strong concordance between CWD and gold standards supports the potential implementation of these devices as a novel method of vital sign monitoring to replace manual monitoring, thus saving costs and improving patient outcomes. Further studies are needed for confirmation.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"8906413"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10869189/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139742290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing Aotearoa, New Zealand's Free Healthline Service through Image Upload Technology.","authors":"Miriama K Wilson, Fiona Pienaar, Ruth Large, Matt Wright, Verity F Todd","doi":"10.1155/2024/6644580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/6644580","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Healthline is one of the 39 free telehealth services that Whakarongorau Aotearoa/New Zealand Telehealth Services provides to New Zealanders. In early 2021, an image upload system for viewing service user-uploaded images was implemented into the Healthline service.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>The aim of this research was to understand the utilisation of Healthline's image upload system by clinicians and service users in New Zealand.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a retrospective observational study analysing Healthline image upload data over a two-year period: March 2021 through to December 2022. A total of 40,045 images were analysed, including demographics of the service users who uploaded an image: ethnicity, age group, and area of residence. The outcome or recommendation of the Healthline call was also assessed based on whether an image was included.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Images uploaded accounted for 6.0% of total Healthline calls (<i>n</i> = 671,564). This research found that more service users were advised to go to an Emergency Department if they did not upload an image compared to service users who used the tool (13.5% vs. 7.7%), whereas a higher proportion of service users were given a lower acuity outcome if they included an image, including visiting an Urgent Care (24.0% vs. 16.9%) and GP (36.7% vs. 24.3%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Service users who did not upload an image had a higher proportion of Emergency Department outcomes than service users who did use the tool. This image upload tool has shown the potential to decrease stress on Emergency Departments around Aotearoa, New Zealand, through increased lower acuity outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":"2024 ","pages":"6644580"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10857879/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}