A Multinational Telemedicine Systems for Disaster Response: Opportunities and Challenges

C.R. Doarn, R. Latifi, F. Hostiuc, Charles R. Doarn, Rifat Latifi, Raed Arafat, Claudiu Zoicas

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781614997276
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781614997283
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Biomedical Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

In the aftermath of a disaster, medical infrastructure is often significantly impacted or destroyed in the affected zone. Recognizing the need for an effective system for deployment in disaster zones, the Emerging Security Challenges Division within NATO?s Science for Peace and Security Program (SPS) initiated the development of a multinational telemedicine system (MnTS). Such a system can improve access to health services and increase survival rates in emergency situations spanning both geographical and time zones. This book presents a review of this NATO-funded MnTS, and follows the thematic approach to its development. The book is divided into 14 chapters; Chapter 1 includes a historical review of telemedicine and disasters and Chapter 2 provides a historical perspective of NATO?s efforts in the field of telemedicine, while Chapters 3 – 12 summarize the development of the MnTS. Critical components of the MnTS are addressed, such as overall organizational structure, the integration of information technology, legal and regulatory considerations, and outreach and public awareness. The evaluation of the MnTS in a field exercise is described, and the book closes with a final summary of the MnTS. The book addresses the challenges faced in deploying telemedicine following a disaster, such as IT, language, culture and legal issues, and provides a template for making telemedicine part of international disaster response.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Prologue
• Contents
• Telemedicine and Disaster Response - An Historical Review
• Historical Perspectives of Telemedicine Use in NATO
• Contributions of NATO's Science for Peace and Security Programme to the Field of Telemedicine
• Development, Structure, and Organization of the MnTS
• Integration of Technology in the MnTS
• Legal and Regulatory Considerations to Expanding Telemedicine Services Across International Borders
• Validation of the MnTS in a Simulated Environment - Ukraine
• Incorporation of Telemedicine in Disaster Management
• Telemedicine for Disaster Management: Opportunities, Challenges, and Requirements
• Telemedicine Evaluation Measures of Military and NATO Missions
• Outreach and Public Awareness
• Perspective of Future Multinational Telemedicine Efforts
• Multinational Telemedicine for Trauma, Disasters and Emergency Management - Its Time Has Come
• Case Study: The "Crawl, Walk, Run" Implementation of the National Telemedicine System in Romania
• Acronyms
• Contributors
• Subject Index
• Author Index