Internet-based teleangiography: an indispensable tool for the interventional cardiologist

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Informatics
• Health Communication

Background:

• Effective communication between referring and consulting physicians is crucial for evaluating treatment strategies like coronary bypass surgery.
• Current methods for transferring patient information, such as mail or hardware-based digital solutions, are often slow, costly, or cumbersome.
• There is a need for efficient and inexpensive solutions for digital image transfer in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate eMedcon, a novel internet-based software solution for digital cine transfer.
• To assess the effectiveness and speed of eMedcon in transmitting patient images between physicians.
• To determine the impact of eMedcon on physician referrals and patient management.

Main Methods:

• eMedcon, an internet-based software, was implemented for digital cine transfer.
• The software was tested at the Washington Hospital Center for image transmission capabilities.
• Physician referral patterns and patient transfer data were analyzed post-implementation.

Main Results:

• eMedcon demonstrated effective and rapid transmission of patient images via the internet.
• The software proved to be a quick and inexpensive solution for digital cine transfer.
• Implementation of eMedcon led to an increase in repeat referrals to the institution.
• More physicians chose to refer patients to the institution after using eMedcon.

Conclusions:

• eMedcon offers a viable, efficient, and cost-effective solution for digital image transfer between healthcare providers.
• The use of eMedcon can enhance inter-physician communication, potentially improving patient care coordination.
• eMedcon adoption positively influenced physician referral behavior and institutional patient volume.