It may take some getting used to for those who end up on an emergency room bed at Isala Hospital in Meppel in April. You may then find a doctor with special glasses at your bedside.
These glasses contain a small camera so that another doctor can watch from a distance, for example at the hospital in Zwolle. It is a test. “A neurologist can observe a patient who comes to Meppel with a stroke,” says Gert-Jan Mauritz, doctor in the emergency department in Meppel. “We want to see whether a good diagnosis can be made remotely.”
For the patients themselves, nothing changes at all, apart from the doctor with the strange glasses. For Isala, it is a possible solution to maintain care in times of an ageing population and staff shortages. “So that stroke care in Meppel can be optimally maintained even if there is a shortage of specialists.”
Neurologists can watch doctors in Meppel remotely
It was only two years ago that the emergency room in Meppel was temporarily closed at night due to a shortage of doctors. This has since been resolved, but there is still a need for doctors. “Last month, there were around forty vacancies for neurologists in the Netherlands, and most of them are in the north-east of the Netherlands,” says Wilmar Jolink. He is a neurologist at Isala and works mainly in Zwolle.
During the day, neurologists are and remain active in the emergency department in Meppel. There are no neurologists working in Meppel in the evenings, but there are some in Zwolle. Instead of him or a colleague having to drive fifteen minutes to Meppel to help, he can watch from a distance through the camera. At the hospital in Zwolle, to be precise.
Then he starts the laptop and immediately sees what the doctor in Meppel also sees. He is also in contact with the doctor on site. This can also be done in text by sending a chat message to the glasses. “And on the screen, we can also zoom in, show and point.”
Jolink points out that this is not just any camera. “It was specially developed for this. That means there is a secure connection. No one else can watch.” The images are not recorded and stored.
Test
This is still a process that will begin next month. Isala wants to carry out the test with around sixty patients. A neurologist will always be present during the test, but also one at a distance. It will then be checked whether the neurologist at a distance comes to the same conclusion.
“In the beginning, it’s not about improving times,” says neurologist Jolink. “The times here are already good. The most important point is that we don’t have to come here, especially for patients who need a more refined assessment. That this can also be done remotely.”
If that succeeds, then the process will be a success for Isala. “And if we don’t get much delay in terms of design and technology,” adds Liselotte Nagtzaam. She is a doctor in training, but is also part of the research team for this trial.
A neurologist can see from a distance through the camera that the doctor is switched on.
© RTV Drenthe / Stefan Klomp
“If it is a success, it could mean that we will only test with a remote neurologist. In the end, it will no longer be necessary to send a neurologist to Meppel at night.” A neurologist is active in Meppel during the day. “So that care in smaller centers remains accessible to anyone who suffers a stroke.”
It may even lead to more care being offered in the smaller hospitals’ emergency departments than is currently the case. “It will be possible,” say the three. But run this test first.
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The original article was written in dutch and has been translated into English
Source: https://creurojahospitals.es/telepresencia-quirurgica-para-enucleaciones-prostaticas/
