Telemedicine might become one of the main constituents to implement the priority national project ‘Health’ related to healthcare, Mikhail Natenzon, CEO of the company ‘National Telemedicine Agency’, says. He believes telemedicine is an effective instrument to improve the availability and quality of medicine assistance to public.
According to Mikhail Natenzon, implementation of telemedicine technologies should develop along three main trends: development of the all-Russian telemedicine system for citizens, formation of telemedicine service for disaster medicine, and establishment of mobile multifunctional telemedicine complexes. As for the latter trend, eight such complexes on the basis of automobiles KAMAZ are currently exploited in Russia. Two modifications are used at present: diagnostic to hold standard medical examination and special to examine women. According to Mikail Natenzon, about 20 complexes have been developed, including the ones to provide social services (together with the Russian Post). In addition to mobile complexes, the telemedicine network launched in the Urals includes more than 20 telemedicine consultation centers in hospitals. Mikhail Natenzon says that a similar system creation has been launched in Tver Region this year.
According to the head of the company ‘National Telemedicine Agency’, one of 2007 key results is the business model, which makes telemedicine development economically efficient. The model is based on the public-private partnership, where private business acts as a provider and undertakes all the operations related to the infrastructure creation and telemedicine services provision.
Telemedicine infrastructure is created through constructing federal centers of high medical technologies. Currently 15 centers are planned to be constructed at the expense of finance allocated to implement the federal target investment program 2006-2007. The first to be opened are the centers in Astrakhan, Cheboksary, Penza, and Krasnodar. In particular, the emergency treatment, orthopedics and endoprosthesis replacement center in Cheboksary will be linked to the telemedicine network uniting Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg Emergency treatment and orthopedics Research Institute, several healthcare institutions of Chuvashia Republic and several republican telemedicine centers. Similar telemedicine networks are created on the basis of other high medical technology centers.
Connection of all healthcare institutions to the internet should become a powerful incentive to the development of telemedicine in Russia. Such an initiative has recently been made by the RF Ministry of IT and Communication.
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Quelle/Source: CNews, 13.12.2007
