[accès libre/free] Nation-wide teleconsultation service since 2002. Better results with significantly lower costs

Timo Hakkarainen, Tuomas Harju, Lauri Toivonen // 5 p. // [résumé en français dans la "Description"]  A total of almost 250 practices, laboratories and hospitals networked with the university hospital affiliated specialists and over 25.000 specialist reports channeled annually entitles RemoteA Ltd to describe its operation a success story. A telemedicine service for rapid and cost-efficient diagnosis in the primary care with the support from consulting specialists over the Internet has been available since 2002 and it is now operational in three European countries. This article describes how the need for a telemedicine specialist consultation service was identified, explains how the service is implemented, presents how the service helps public health care to reduce costs and discusses the benefits gained. Key words: telemedicine; cardiology; Finland.