Telemedicine in Extremadura. The model of Extremadura

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Claudio Peláez

Abstract

The main goal of this article is to report the experience of a region in the Spanish southwest that in 2002 started working with telemedicine and with its lights and shadows carries on with the experience trying to establish this working tool on the daily practice of health care. A great deal of importance is normally given to technological resources on telemedicine and, although they are really important, they are not responsible for the failures that usually occur. Human resources, on the other hand, are essential. It has to be noticed that almost 90% of teleconsultations happen in real time (online). Some medical specialties such as teledermatology are more popular, although others that seemed more difficult are increasingly being used, such as tele-phsychiatry and tele-trauma. This Telemedicine Model of Extremadura can be applied to geographical regions with mainly rural population, with some difficulties in having access to second level health care units due to social-demographic factors (age, chronic diseases, disabilities) or due to security reasons (prisons).

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