[Telemedicine in Dutch intensive care]

Telemedicine is a way to provide care over a distance. In teleconsultations the intensivist gives advice to his or her colleagues in a remote centre. In tele-intensive care (tele-IC) the intensivist makes medical decisions for the remote patients and is fully responsible for the treatment of the intensive care patients in a remote centre. In the USA, 11% of ICU patients are currently being treated by tele-intensivists. Telemedicine has the potential of increasing the continuity of care and of providing expertise to patients in small ICUs where and when needed. In a pilot setting, the OLVG hospital has implemented a tele-ICU for the 3-bed ICU in the MC Zuiderzee hospital. The tele-ICU was set up on 3 December 2010. Although the tele-ICU performed sufficiently, several aspects, such as cost analysis, need clarification before the system can be widely implemented in the Netherlands.