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Telemedicine: A Systematic Review of Economic Evaluations Publisher



Delgoshaei B1 ; Mobinizadeh M2 ; Mojdekar R3 ; Afzal E4 ; Arabloo J5 ; Mohamadi E6
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Health Services Administration, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. National Institute for Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Social Security Organization, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Hospital Management Research Centre, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5. Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  6. 6. Health Equity Research Center (HERC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran Published:2017


Abstract

Background: Telemedicine is an expanded term in health information technology that comprises procedures for transmitting medical information electronically to improve patients' health status. The objective of this research is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine interventions in various specialty areas. Methods: The Cochrane Library and Centre for Review and Dissemination were searched up to February 2013 using Mesh. Studies that compared any kind of telemedicine with any other routine care technique and used cost per health utility unit's outcomes were included. Results: Twenty-one articles were included. According to the included studies, it seems that using telemedicine in cardiology can be effective and cost-effective enough but pre-hospital telemedicine diagnostics program are likely to have little impact on acute myocardial infarction fatality. In pulmonary, telemedicine can be a cost-effective strategy for delivering outpatient pulmonary care to rural populations which have limited access to specialized services, but telemedicine is not cost- effective in asthma and airways cancer. In ophthalmology, especially in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, the use of telemedicine is a cost-effective tool. In dermatology, telemedicine is not cost-effective enough in comparison of conventional cares. In other fields such as physical activity and diet, eating disorder, tele-ICU, psychotherapy for depression and telemedicine on ships, telemedicine can be used as a cost-effective tool for treatments or cares. Conclusion: Most of the included studies confirmed that telemedicine is cost-effective for applying in major medical fields such as cardiology; but in dermatology, papers could not confirm the positive capability of telemedicine. © Iran University of Medical Sciences.
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