A comparison of telepaediatric activity at two regional hospitals in Queensland.
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Date
2003-03-28
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Abstract
We conducted a 15 month feasibility study of telepaediatrics A novel service was offered to two hospitals in Queensland Mackay and Hervey Bay We used data from all other hospitals throughout the state as the control group Although both intervention hospitals were provided with the same service the telepaediatric activity generated and the effect on admissions and outpatient activity were markedly different There was a significant decrease in the number of patient admissions to Brisbane from the Mackay region In addition there was an increase in the number of Mackay patients treated locally as outpatients In contrast little change was observed in Hervey Bay We assessed whether the observed differences between the two hospitals were due to various factors which influenced the use of the telepaediatric service These factors included the method of screening patients before transfer to the tertiary centre and the physical distance between each facility and the tertiary centre We believe that the screening method used for patient referrals was the most important determinant of the use of the telepaediatric service