Requirements, Challenges, and Key Components to Improve Onboard Medical Care Using Maritime Telemedicine: Narrative Review

Abstract

Introduction. Telemedicine has been able to bring healthcare services to all people in far locations such as the sea. Our main objective was to overview the main features, challenges, and requirements of applying telemedicine at sea. Methods. The electronic search includes all types of papers published in English. It was performed in four databases with keywords to Feb 2023. Next, main categories were defined to extract major concepts. By mapping extracted themes, maritime telemedicine concepts were represented in two conceptual models. Results. After screening the papers based on title and abstract, 18 articles remained. They can be divided into 13 categories based on their clinical domains. Out of 18 reviewed articles, six articles were published in 2020. The greatest number of studies with five articles was conducted in France. Evidence showed that maritime telemedicine service can be provided to all kinds of ships. Regarding clinical domains, the greatest demand belonged to primary care problems (5 papers) and general health assessment (4 papers). Challenges were divided into four main categories. Moreover, the required services and equipment in four categories were described too. Finally, a conceptual model is represented for providing telemedicine services at sea using satellite Internet. Conclusion. Despite the existing challenges in providing the required equipment and resources for the implementation of maritime medicine, it has an important role in providing better care for seafarers without time limitations.