Telemedicine for a Children's Field Hospital in Chechnya

Abstract

In 2001, the Children's Field Hospital in the Gudermes area of the Chechen Republic was connected to a telemedical centre at the Scientific Institute of Pediatrics and Children's Surgery in Moscow, via the Russian SCA HeliosNet satellite system. An asymmetric satellite link, in which there was a high-speed downlink from the satellite to Gudermes and a low-speed uplink from Gudermes to the satellite was used. In total, 179 teleconsultations were carried out from October 2001 until February 2002, when the field hospital was closed. Of the 179 teleconsultations, 26 were real-time, by videoconference and the rest were asynchronous, by email. Almost half of consultations were carried out for emergency or urgent reasons, thus demonstrating the value of providing access to the necessary experts. The use of satellite communication allowed telemedical support for medical decisions in a wide range of disease and trauma in children and teenage in a conflict situation.