CHAPTER 4. SITE LOCATIONS AND FUNCTIONALITY

After you determine telemedicine program objectives, it is important to define the scope of the program, and its locations of operation. Generally, this involves the identification of site locations where a tele-presenter will examine patients and collect diagnostic images, data and sound for transmission to consulting professionals, and the clinical functionality (i.e. medical applications) at each site. Each of these sites is referred to as an "Originating Site".

One of the first tasks is to determine the clinical functionality of each site. The functionality of each site is dictated by the specific medical issues to be addressed at the site. Telemedicine applications today exist across almost all medical specialties and a great deal of functionality can be introduced into each site. Increasingly, medical devices are interoperable, meaning that multiple devices may operate using a single desktop or laptop personal computer. With the increase in interoperability, the functionality of each site can be expanded, often only by purchasing devices intended to achieve the specific functionality. In planning your program, consider the desired flexibility to modify or expand applications at a reasonable cost in the future.

The number of Originating Sites and the functionality of each will begin to define the capital expenditure requirements for the telemedicine program. If budgetary considerations play a factor in the number of sites and/or the functionality of each site, try to design each site so that functionality may be expanded in the future, principally through the purchase of additional medical devices. A phased-in approach to the development of telemedicine sites requires a thorough understanding of the interoperability of devices and equipment selected for the program.