An Image-Centric, Web-Based, Telehealth Information System for Multidisciplinary Clinical Collaboration

Abstract

Web-based technologies are changing the face of traditional telehealth applications by providing cost-effective clinical data capture and sharing solutions. Access to medical images in coordination with clinical workflow and face-to-face technologies can integrate clinical service delivery, diagnosis, and treatment across geographic, disciplinary, and organizational boundaries. For example, medical images are used for a variety of purposes and range in their complexity from a simple digital photograph of a physical mass taken by a primary care provider to a magnetic resonance image (MRI) reviewed by a radiologist that might describe the details of the mass; to a histopathology slide that a pathologist might use to diagnose the malignancy of the mass. Each of these images is managed by separate domain-specific information systems which are often located in technology silos and are constrained by disciplinary, organizational, and geographic barriers.

TeleCAM is a telehealth information system that provides a standards-based technological infrastructure for the collection, storage, and display of digital images via the web. Aggregating images across domains, workflow, time, and geographies can greatly enhance clinical collaboration, diagnostic efficiencies, continuity of care, and ultimately patient care outcomes. This chapter will provide a short review of the history of telemedicine and describe in detail the technological specifications, features, and management strategies of a web-based solution. Several clinical applications will also be described in order to visualize the full capacity of this web-based solution.