Telemedicine: Part II

The UK Department of Health states: "If used correctly, telehealth can deliver a 15% reduction in A&E [accident and emergency department] visits, a 20% reduction in emergency admissions, a 14% reduction in elective admissions, a 14% reduction in bed days, and an 8% reduction in tariff costs. "19 In 2012, Steventon et al described 179 general practices and 3,230 people with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or heart failure recruited from practices between May 2008 and November 2009 and concluded that telehealth is associated with lower mortality and emergency admission rates.20 The reasons for the short-term increases in admissions for the control group are not clear, but the trial recruitment processes could have had an effect. John S. Rubin, MD, FACS, FRCS Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery University College London Hospitals NHS Trust School of Health Sciences City, University of London Department of Surgery University College of London London, United Kingdom Robert T. Sataloff, MD, DMA, FACS Editor-in-Chief Ear, Nose & Throat Journal Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Drexel University College of Medicine Philadelphia References 15.