1 / 14

Medical Care for Seafarers: Telemedicine at Sea

Providing medical care to a special population of travelers, including seafarers, through telemedicine services. Learn about the challenges faced and the advancements in maritime healthcare. Explore the role of telemedical assistance and the tools used for remote diagnosis and treatment.

billywright
Download Presentation

Medical Care for Seafarers: Telemedicine at Sea

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Medical care to a special population of travelers: The seafarers Francesco Amenta Fondazione Centro Internazionale Radio Medico (CIRM), Roma Centro di Telemedicina e Telefarmacia Università di Camerino, Camerino, Italy

  2. Medical Travel Medical travel indicates traveling for medical care. In general it is referred to patients travelling in search of specialised treatments, surgeries or rehabilitation programs in high-level hospitals with qualified personnel and innovative technologies. The term is also used when healthy patients decide to travel to improve their health. There are also other travellers for medical care. It is the case of workers on board merchant ships or airlines. In case of diseases or accidents that cannot be treated satisfactorily on board they go to a physician/hospital in the first port/airport.

  3. Injuries and illness at sea: who cares? • The largest majority of merchant ships do not have on board a doctor or adequately trained paramedic personnel • Merchant ships can be at sea for days or weeks before they can reach a port • For centuries medical assistance to people on board ships was left to the responsibility of the ship’s captain. He helped himself with notions learned in courses of hygiene in nautical institutes or with medical books • The level of medical assistance in these conditions was extremely poor.

  4. Medical Assistance at Sea • Since the first Radio Medical service started in New York City (1920), between 1922 and 1939 12 countries have developed Radio Medico • All countries ratifying ILO 106 (1958) are required to have a Radio Medical Service free of charge • No distinction made between nationality of patients using Radio Medical services

  5. Telemedicine at Sea • More advanced telemedical systems are slowly being taken on board the ships • Circular IMO MSC/circ 960 (2000) emphasizes the relevance of telemedical services for providing high quality medical assistance to sealing seafarers • The circular introduces the Telemedical Maritime Assistance Service (TMAS) and defines standards and roles for TMAS

  6. Maritime telemedicine Satellite Land Earth Station Ship with patient Landbased network Speach Medical service • Communication from ship via satellite • Expensive use

  7. Advantages offered by telemedicine 1938: Transmission of breathing and pulse rate by radiotelegraphy 2002: Store-and-forward picture of an ankle injury used for guiding medication 2000: Dermatological lesion

  8. Injuries and illness at sea: who cares? • A medical officer is in charge of the patient • On land, several doctors (TMAS) are available to give advise • The doctor will need the best possible information about the state of the patient • The doctor will need the best collaboration from the ship side • Knowledge of the patient’s medical history is extremely useful

  9. ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SOFTWARE TELEMEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE

  10. http://217.59.1.178/_medicirm

  11. SEAFARERS HEALTH PASSPORT • Knowledge of the patient’s medical history is extremely useful

  12. THE NEAR FUTURE • New Health Requirements for European Flag Ships

More Related