Telehealth in the Pacific: Update 2018
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Keywords
Telemedicine, Pacific Islands
Abstract
In the South Pacific, there have been reports of the Cook Islands getting into Telemedicine with cases being referred from Aitutaki to Rarotonga and then onto a clinical focal point in New Zealand. The National Referral Hospital in Honiara, Solomon Islands3 was, for several years, using telepathology services where European pathologists were able to report on over 300 cases where specimen slides were prepared in Honiara, digitised then emailed to them for reading. Despite the opportunities that have been provided, and are available, there is a dearth of publications and reports on telehealth and/or telemedicine use or innovations in the Pacific apart from what was achieved in the late 1990s and early 2000s. What are the possible reasons for this?
Telehealth is established in the Pacific to some extent but it requires the next generation of health professionals to realise its true potential for improving Pacific health.
References
2. The Pacific Island Health Care Project; Donald Ames Person*; Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI, USA; Frontiers in Public Health | Public Health Education and Promotion., October 2014 Volume 2 Article 175, 1-5
3. Telepathology on the Solomon Islands--two years' experience with a hybrid Web- and email-based telepathology system. Brauchli K1, Jagilly R, Oberli H, Kunze KD, Phillips G, Hurwitz N, Oberholzer M.., J Telemed Telecare. 2004;10 Suppl 1:14-7.
4. Evaluation of the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme; Gary Blick, Joanna Smith; 13 March 2015,. Report prepared for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
5. Telemedicine: Opportunities and Developments in Member States: Report on the Second Global Survey on eHealth 2009. WHO 2010.
6. Special Report : Telehealth Reed V. Tuckson, M.D., Margo Edmunds, Ph.D., and Michael L. Hodgkins, M.D., M.P.H. N Engl J Med 377;16 October 19, 2017 1585-1592
7. Pacific Islands Mobile Economy 2015, GSMA tps://www.gsmaintelligence.com
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Wame Baravilala, Former Dean Fiji Medical School
Former Representative, United Nations Population Fund, Fiji and Thailand