Navy Telemedicine: A Review of Current and Emerging Research Models

Abstract

With extended deployments of military telemedicine to remote, austere, and high-risk settings, there is a danger that implementation will outrun the research designed to assess it. A review of existing research evaluates current assessment models and indicates gaps around which future research may be designed. A review of models for evaluating telemedicine was conducted in September, 2001. Seven areas of assessment recurred that could be subsumed under the framework of "interoperability." A follow-up search was conducted during September, 2003, to ascertain the degree to which assessments of interoperability were being advocated. Although extensive deployments of telemedicine systems in high-risk settings make it imperative to know that human, organizational, and technical components are integrating productively (i.e., interoperating), current research does not evaluate telemedicine as a system. The structure and functioning of telemedicine systems should be assessed empirically and systemically to avoid subjective or limited assessments.

The United States Army Ocular Teleconsultation program 2004 through 2009

“…6 The United States Navy did likewise. 9,10 Since then, various military telemedicine efforts have arisen to support deployed providers and their patients. [11][12][13][14] Based on the early success of e-mail consultation, the United States Army Medical Department approved an official policy permitting its use in 2005 with subsequent policy revisions in 2007 and 2009.…”

The Health Experts onLine at Portsmouth (HELP) system: One-year review of adult and Pediatric Asynchronous Telehealth Consultations

“…There was a large push in the military community in the middle of the last decade to develop a teleconsultation program that was never fully realized. 1 Previous attempts met with resistance from organizational factors, including limited education on a system’s functionality, a lack of defined cost/benefit analysis, and/or a lack of specialist support. 2…”

Barriers and facilitators of videoconferencing psychotherapy implementation in veteran mental health care environments: a systematic review

“…Researchers have advised the adoption of a stepped implementation process, beginning with a small-scale, manageable pilot study [ 23 , 25 , 53 , 55 ]. The lessons learned from a single pilot location can then be used to help facilitate implementation at additional sites.…”