Characteristics and Effectiveness of Mobile- and Web-Based Tele-Emergency Consultation System between Rural and Urban Hospitals in South Korea: A National-Wide Observation Studyopen access
- Authors
- Choi, Woosung; Lim, Yongsu; Heo, Tag; Lee, Sungmin; Kim, Won; Kim, Sang-Chul; Kim, Yeonwoo; Kim, Jaehyuk; Kim, Hyun; Kim, Hyungil; Lee, Taehun; Kim, Chol
- Issue Date
- Oct-2023
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Keywords
- teleconsultation; telemedicine; mobile; transportation
- Citation
- JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE, v.12, no.19
- Journal Title
- JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
- Volume
- 12
- Number
- 19
- URI
- https://scholarworks.bwise.kr/gachon/handle/2020.sw.gachon/90092
- DOI
- 10.3390/jcm12196252
- ISSN
- 2077-0383
2077-0383
- Abstract
- (1) Background: The government of South Korea has established a nationwide web- and mobile-based emergency teleconsultation network by designating urban and rural hospitals. The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics and effectiveness of the tele-emergency system in South Korea. (2) Methods: Tele-emergency consultation cases from May 2015 to December 2018 were analyzed in the present study. The definition of a tele-emergency in the present study is an emergency consultation between doctors in rural and urban hospitals via a web- and mobile-based remote emergency consultation system (RECS). Consultations through an RECS are grouped into three categories: medical procedure or treatment guidance, image interpretation, and transportation requests. The present study analyzed the characteristics of the tele-emergency system and the reduction in unnecessary transportation (RUT). (3) Results: A total of 2604 cases were analyzed in the present study from 2985 tele-emergency consultation cases. A total of 381 cases were excluded for missing data. Consultations for image interpretation were the most common in trauma cases (71.3%), while transfer requests were the most common in non-trauma cases (50.3%). Trauma patients were more frequently admitted to rural hospitals or discharged and followed up with at rural hospitals (20.3% vs. 40.5%) after consultations. In terms of disease severity, non-severe cases were statistically higher in trauma cases (80.6% vs. 59.4%; p < 0.001). The RUT was statistically highly associated with trauma cases (60.8% vs. 42.8%; p < 0.001). In an analysis that categorized cases by region, a statistically higher proportion of transportation was used in island regions (69.9% vs. 49.5%; p < 0.003). More RUT was associated with non-island regions (30.1% vs. 50.5%; p = 0.001). (4) Conclusions: The tele-emergency system had a great role in reducing unnecessary patient transportation in non-severe trauma cases and non-island rural area emergency cases. Further research is needed for a cost/benefit analysis and clinical outcomes.
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