Book Summary:
This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A836653. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Telemedicine is a system of healthcare delivery tools which uses telecommunications consultations as an alternative to transportation of the patient. There are no conclusive studies to prove or disprove the use of telemedicine and it is often implemented with little basis for measuring its effectiveness. Recent initiatives have been driven by advances in technology and pressure by upper management to reduce the cost of health care, but not from local needs assessments. This thesis provides a methodology to collect data used in supporting measures of effectiveness. The methodology is developed through a review of strategic goals, an assessment of potential measures of effectiveness, and the use of a model for data collection. It is applied at a Navy medical treatment facility recently installing telemedicine equipment. |