Easy Medic: an Internet application for the general practitioner

Telepsychiatry: an overview for psychiatrists

Telepsychiatry, in the form of videoconferencing and other modalities, brings enormous opportunities for clinical care, education, research and administration to the field of medicine. A comprehensive review of the literature related to telepsychiatry - specifically videoconferencing - was conducted using the MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index and Telemedicine Information Exchange databases (1965 to June 2001). The keywords used were telepsychiatry, telemedicine, videoconferencing, Internet, primary care, education, personal digital assistant and handheld computers. Studies were selected for review if they discussed videoconferencing for patient care, satisfaction, outcomes, education and costs, and provided models of facilitating clinical service delivery. Literature on other technologies was also assessed and compared with telepsychiatry to provide an idea of future applications of technology. Published data indicate that telepsychiatry is successfully used for a variety of clinical services and educational initiatives. Telepsychiatry is generally feasible, offers a number of models of care and consultation, in general satisfies patients and providers, and has positive and negative effects on interpersonal behaviour. More quantitative and qualitative research is warranted with regard to the use of telepsychiatry in clinical and educational programmes and interventions.

Practical applications of hand-held computers in dermatology

For physicians, hand-held computers are gaining popularity as point of care reference tools. The convergence of hand-held computers, the Internet, and wireless networks will enable these devices to assume more essential roles as mobile transmitters and receivers of digital medical Information. In addition to serving as portable medical reference sources, these devices can be Internet-enabled, allowing them to communicate over wireless wide and local area networks. With enhanced wireless connectivity, hand-held computers can be used at the point of patient care for charge capture, electronic prescribing, laboratory test ordering, laboratory result retrieval, web access, e-mail communication, and other clinical and administrative tasks. Physicians In virtually every medical specialty have begun using these devices in various ways. This review of hand-held computer use in dermatology illustrates practical examples of the many different ways hand-held computers can be effectively used by the practicing dermatologist.

Effects of electronic communication in general practice

OBJECTIVE

To obtain insight into the effects of electronic communication on GPs by studying those publications in literature describing the effects of structured electronic clinical communication in general practice.

METHODS

We retrieved all publications in the English language indexed in MEDLINE under the MESH term 'Computer Communication Networks' AND having either 'family practice' or 'primary health care' as MESH term OR 'GP', or 'GPs' as text word.

RESULTS

A total of 176 publications were retrieved of which 30 publications met the criteria. In 28 of these 30 publications potential effects were described; one described claimed effects, three described demonstrated effects with subjective data and five described demonstrated effects with objective data. The studies documented, furthermore, effects on the speed of communication, the content of information and records, a change of processes involved in the communication, quality of care, costs, workload of physicians, appreciation of physicians, confidentiality, and adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that only a few studies evaluated electronic communication versus paper communication. Of these studies, only a few report improvement. Our final conclusion is that, so far, literature has not shown that the positive effects can be explained by electronic communication as such.