Second opinions in remote surgical practice using email and digital photography
Ben M Stutchfield1, Rooney Jagilly, Bruce R Tulloh
1Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, Upper GI Surgery, Edinburgh, East Lothian, United Kingdom.
ANZ Journal of Surgery
|October 13, 2007
Summary
Email and digital photography enable remote surgical consultations, proving feasible for general surgery opinions. However, diagnostic accuracy is limited by image quality and non-visual patient data.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Surgical Innovation
- Telemedicine
Background:
- Email facilitates global surgical communication.
- Remote surgical practice can be enhanced through digital tools.
- Assessing the feasibility of remote consultations is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of obtaining clinical opinions via email and digital photography.
- To assess the efficacy of remote consultations in surgical practice.
- To determine the confidence levels in remote diagnoses and management plans.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study involving adult general surgical cases with visual components.
- Emailed clinical details and digital images to a UK-based surgeon for consultation.
- Independent review of diagnostic and management plan concordance.
Main Results:
- High confidence (56%) in remote diagnoses and (78%) in management plans.
- Diagnostic and management concordance between centers was 88% and 43%, respectively.
- Low confidence linked to vague symptoms and poor image resolution.
Conclusions:
- Email and digital photography are feasible for remote adult general surgery consultations.
- Efficacy is constrained by image resolution and the importance of non-visual patient information.
- Further development needed to overcome limitations in remote diagnostic capabilities.
