Utilization of Telemedicine for Evaluation and Treatment of Hepatitis C Patients in Military Health Clinics
Abstract
The hepatitis C Telemedicine project is being conducted in three phases. The first phase of the project is to validate the use of desktop VTC system connected at 384 kbs to visually diagnose patients with physical findings secondary to chronic liver disease. Diagnostic agreement between in person, face-to-face evaluations versus those performed using the VTC system will be compared in patients with liver disorders. This first phase of the project was added to the original submitted protocol because of a lack of published literature on the utilization of VTC in evaluating and treating patients with liver disorder. It is necessary to ensure that common physical exam findings in patients with liver disease can be identified on a VTC system prior to the institution of this system in caring for patients. DCI approval of a research project to complete this task has been granted. The WRAMC DCI approved protocol is entitled "Tele-Hepatitis Phase I: Validation of desktop Video Teleconferencing (vTC) system at 384 kbs ISDN for evaluation of patients with chronic liver diseases" (WRAMC DCI protocol #00-1407). A pilot project has been completed and presented at the 5th Annual American Telemedicine Association conference in Phoenix, AZ, in May 2000 (1). Data from the first five patient evaluated in the pilot project comparing in person exam versus VTC exam showed that there was moderate agreement in physical exam findings in patients with liver disease but was dependent on the bandwidth utilized. A 384 kbs connection was superior to the 128 kbs connection. Thus, a minimum of 384 kbs connection speed will be utilized in the in-house validation study. The second phase of the project is to receive approval for hepatitis C (HCV) treatment protocols that will be utilized to treat NARMC patients.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA388803
Entities
People
- Kent Holtzmuller
Organizations
- Walter Reed Army Medical Center