Internet Therapy Act Enters Force in New Years; Tele-Surgery Now a Possibility in Russia
In Russia, the Telemedicine Act entered into force on January 1, 2018. Many books and articles on the therapeutic role of television have been issued. At last, physicians have decided to adopt this tool. From now on, doctors don't have to see patients in person.
Alyona Ragozina will report on how it works.
Many attempts at curing patients via TV have already been made. In the 1990s, various "healers" appeared on Russian television. Back then, physicians refused to accept that approach. Now they have their own approach.
Here, a medical assistant from the remote village of Rozhentsevo in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, is sending information about the patient's heart rate, pulse, and blood test results to the display of the district's chief cardiologist. It's not possible to get to him, as the village has been snowed in. This way of remote patients' examination is called telemedicine.
Inna Kachmasheva, medical assistant: "Now I'm sure that in case of an emergency I'll be able to provide medical treatment with the remote help of the doctors of the district's main hospital".
a long-awaited perinatal center in Penza. It's become one of the best clinics in the Volga region. Each mother occupies a separate room with an incubator. Pediatricians control the newborn patients' state remotely via a mobile television system.
A new mother:"Everything went well. It took me 3 hours to give birth. I could have delivered quintuplets in such a facility. Really, why not?"
Information technologies have been implemented in certain Russian hospitals and clinics for years, but now, the newly adopted Telemedicine Act allows for changing the approach to medical care. By 2025, it presupposes the establishment of a multilevel online consultation system.
Veronika Skvortsova, Minister for Health: "The bar of quality must be set at the same level for the whole country. And all the citizens should be provided with timely medical care, no matter where they live. This is when we'll start to see that every person in Russia begins to feel that the medical care in our country has become better. This is a vital task, and I think, computerization of the healthcare system is a great help".
There's no place for fraudsters in telemedicine. Doctors still have to see patients in person to diagnose a disease precisely. All the data from the medical devices will come to the unified state database. Remote medics register their accounts, then, they consult patients via Skype calls, receive test results via a messenger, and issue digital fit notes. Various services which allow seeing a doctor without visiting a clinic are getting more popular.
Georgy Lebedev, Sechenov State Medical University: "Telemedicine gives a chance to get medical help when you're at home, at work, and on the road. You'll be able to see a doctor, no matter whether you're on vacation or on a business trip".
A heart monitor which can call an ambulance, a portable set of urological devices with a medicine dispenser, and even phone operated scales which adjust the menu for diabetic patients. All at-risk patients will be provided with such devices. Moreover, a special emergency service will be established to monitor the data for critical changes. In case of emergency, the service will chart the shortest routes from the patient to the hospital.
German Klimenko, Internet expert: "Telemedicine means trusting your equipment, and modern equipment allows for a precise diagnosis".
At the next stage, house patients that are placed under medical observation via remote doctor will be able to substitute hospital treatment.
So far, not all the patients trust the new technology of treatment via the Internet, but the medical community already claims that the new law is an economic breakthrough.
Before today, EEG examination wasn't available in this distant stad of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Patients had to go to the regional hospital and wait a week for the test results. Now, dozens of free tests per month are made here.
Alyona Ragozina, Tatyana Stepovaya, Vesti