Abstract
Hellenic Air Force introduced its teleconsultation project in 2002 by the establishment of PC-based videoconference links between the Central Air Force Hospital in Athens, Greece and several remote camps in order to serve the personnel and their dependants. A retrospective cost-minimization analysis was conducted for 38 remote subjects that were telemedically examined, instead of being referred to the hospital. For the evaluation of the annual cost of both procedures (telemedicine and referral), the fixed and variable costs were estimated. Furthermore, a simplified sensitivity analysis was conducted.
The telemedical system proved to be cost-effective even for the limited number of 38 enrollees. Sensitivity analysis suggested that upon upgrade of the service as an integral component of daily care with subsequent higher number of beneficiaries and users of the system, the cost of each session would decrease dramatically. Current technology indicates that telemedical systems could provide efficient and cost-effective care to eligible enrollees.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Garshnek, V., Evaluating telemedicine in a changing technological era. J. Healthcare Inform. Manage. 4:37–45, 1999.
Labiris, G., Coertzen, I., Katsikas, A., Karydis, A., Petounis, A., An eight-year study of internet-based remote medical counselling. J. Telemed. Telecare 8:212–215, 2002.
Editorial. Telemedicine: Fad or future? Lancet 345:73–74, 1995.
Roine, R., Ohinmaa, A., and Hailey, D., Assessing telemedicine: A systematic review of the literature Can. Med. Assoc. J. 6:765–771, 2001.
May, C., Mort, M., Mair, F., Ellis, NT., Gask, L., Evaluation of new technologies in healthcare: What's the context? Health Inform. J. 6:64–68, 2000.
Garshnek, V., and Hassell, L., The AKAMAI evaluation initiative: Evaluating the impact of telemedicine on healthcare delivery (Phase 1). Int. J. Healthcare Technol. Manage. 1:227–251, 1995.
Drummond, M., Brien, B., Stoddart, G., Torrance, G., Methods for the Evaluation of Healthcare Programs, 2nd edn., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997.
Moore, M. G., Theory of transactional distance. In Keegan, D. (ed.), Theoretical Principles of Distance Education, Routledge, New York, pp. 22–38, 1993.
Labiris, G., Petounis, A., Kitsos, G., Aspiotis, M., Psillas, K., Internet-based counselling to remote ophthalmologic patients. Acta Ophthalmol. Scand. 81:86–88, 2003.
Whitten, P., Mair, F., Haycox, A., May, C. R., Williams, T. L., Hellmich, S., Systematic review of cost effectiveness studies of telemedicine interventions. Br. Med. J. 324:1434–1437, 2002.
Chernew, M., Fendrick, M., and Hirth, R., Managed care and medical technology: Implication for cost growth. Health Aff. 16:196–206, 1997.
Labiris, G., and Petounis, A., A framework to assess readiness for tele-ophthalmology in remote glaucoma populations. J. Telemed. Telecare 10:184–185, 2004.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services. 2001 Telemedicine report to Congress. US Government Printing Office, pp. 17–20, 2001.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Labiris, G., Tsitlakidis, C. & Niakas, D. Retrospective Economic Evaluation of the Hellenic Air Force Teleconsultation Project. J Med Syst 29, 493–500 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-005-6106-4
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-005-6106-4