Development of Telemedicine at the Institute of Medicine of PetrSU
The Institute of Medicine of PetrSU develops a new regional consultative-educational model to ensure the availability of medical care in the regions of the Republic of Karelia in the framework of the existing agreement between PetrSU and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Karelia.
The structural subdivision of the Institute of High Biomedical Technologies, the Telemedicine Laboratory, is a model of a fundamentally new interaction between PetrSU and medical institutions of the Republic with leading medical centers of the Russian Federation.
The functioning of the Telemedicine Laboratory, its resource capabilities allowed to improve the quality and availability of medical care in the Republic of Karelia by expanding the possibilities of distance learning and advanced training of specialists, exchanging scientific information using modern telecommunication technologies and the intellectual potential of the best medical centers in Russia and Europe.
The mobile multidisciplinary advisory and educational center of the Institute of Medicine has been established and is functioning. At present, 12 regions of the Republic are involved in the effective interaction. It is planned to expand the involvement among all regions of Karelia (Sortavalsky, Pitkyarantsky, Pryazha, Olonets, Kondopozhsky, Segezhsky, Belomorsky, Kostomuksha, Muezersky, Loukhsky, Kalevalsky, Prionezhsky, Suoyarsky, Lahdenpohsky, Kem, Medvezhiegorsky, Pitkyarantsky).
As a result of the work of the multidisciplinary advisory and educational center of the Institute of Medicine, more than 500 telemedicine consultations and in-person consultations in the districts were carried out. Video conciliums were conducted for patients with indeterminate diagnosis who are being treated in the regions of the Republic of Karelia.
Alexander Balashov, the Director of the Institute of Medicine, the head of the Telemedicine Laboratory, the Doctor of Medical Sciences told about the achievements of the close cooperation of the Telemedicine Laboratory of the Institute of Medicine of PetrSU and the health institutions of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Karelia aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of medical care. Alexander Balashov outlined the important role of regular telemedicine clinical examinations of difficult patients for doctors of the Republic, who are conducted at the republican hospital by leading professors and heads of departments of the Institute of Medicine in cooperation with leading specialists of the health institutions of the Republic of Karelia. Clinical reviews on surgical, therapeutic and diagnostic cases with broadcasts to the regions of the Republic of Karelia are held weekly. This year 48 clinical analyzes were conducted with transmission to the regions of the Republic of Karelia in which 108 physicians of health facilities of the Republic of Karelia took part. The specialists of the Institute of Medicine conduct telemedicine consultations of doctors in the districts on complex clinical cases. This year 482 consultations were held, which is almost 2.5 times more than last year.
Much attention is paid to improving the quality of training for the healthcare system of Karelia. The head of the Telemedicine Laboratory drew particular attention to the development of new forms of the educational process for doctors, the formation of a plan and forms of advanced training of medical workers, taking into account regional characteristics. Thus, 53 educational events were held for doctors with broadcasts to the regions of Karelia: conferences, seminars, round tables, “Saturday schools”. The employees of the Center for Postgraduate Education regularly consult doctors from the regions of the Republic on the issues of skill upgrading among doctors and accrediting specialists at the premises of the Institute of Medicine.
In addition, Alexander Balashov emphasized the development of such a form of improving the quality of medical care as patient education. In this case, the Republican Hospital named after V.A. Baranov organized and conducted telemedicine schools of patients with video broadcasting to the regions of the Republic of Karelia. In 2017, during the beginning of the implementation of the practice of conducting telemedicine schools, only one video broadcast took place, 12 patients were consulted. In 2018, 8 telemedicine schools for patients were held; recommendations were given to 231 patients.
Aleksandr Balashov noted that these events launched a new stage of cooperation between medical institutions of Karelia and PetrSU in the framework of the agreement on cooperation and the strategic development project "High Biomedical Technologies of Health Preservation in the Arctic and Subarctic zones" within the Flagship University Development Program.
The huge section of the Telemedicine Laboratory is devoted to scientific research. Joint research is being conducted in various topical areas of fundamental and clinical medicine with colleagues from leading Russian and foreign medical centers using the capabilities of the Telemedicine Laboratory of the Institute of High Biomedical Technologies. Telemedicine technologies are implemented by such foreign partners as the University of Eastern Finland; consortium Neuro-EMG, BSAMIG (group of analysis of biological signals and recognition of medical images) (Kuopio); Tufts University, Boston, USA; University of Massachusetts, Worcester, USA; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA; Federal University of Goias, Goiânia, Brazil.
