Albania is working to establish its first National Telemedicine Centre through an USAID-funded project implemented by the International Virtual e-Hospital Foundation.
The programme, which was first established in Kosovo in 2002, is part of a telemedicine network being built in the Balkans. According to USAID, it is "based on the successful model of the Kosovo Telemedicine Programme".
The project is headed by Dr Rifat Latifi, professor of surgery at the University of Arizona and founder of the International Virtual e-Hospital Foundation.
Latifi sat down with SETimes correspondent Linda Karadaku to explain the programme and its benefits.
SETimes: How important is this project for Albania's healthcare system?
Rifat Latifi: Telemedicine is a modern development in the healthcare delivery of today. It has to do with using computers and communication systems to connect a health provider and patients who are from a few to several thousands of kilometres apart.
The programme that is being implemented in Albania is focused more on the provision of quality health services than on the distance.
It has three components -- the continuous medical education of healthcare professionals, the electronic medical library and, obviously, the provision of healthcare services through telemedicine solutions.
The continuous medical education component will make sure that Albanian doctors and nurses receive state-of-the-art training without having to leave the hospital. They can attend a conference that is organised in another city, in another country or on another continent. Furthermore, they can ask questions and interact with lecturers in real time just as they do in a "normal" conference.
The electronic library component will promote the research activity of doctors and nurses in the country, and will also enable them to consult the latest developments in the medical field to be able to provide better patient care. The provision of medical services from a distance is also a clear benefit.
The Telemedicine Programme of Albania is now considered one of the priorities of the government and the health ministry. The prime minister has been personally involved in supporting the initiative.
SETimes: What about the doctors who will manage the centers?
Latifi: The Albanian doctors are excellent and committed professionals. They use computers and the Internet to substantiate their research and publications. Some of them also use e-mail to communicate with patients and colleagues in Albania and other countries. It means they already grasped the telemedicine "spirit".
But contemporary telemedicine is more than that. The technology of healthcare progresses every day and telemedicine technology follows that path. The delivery of telemedicine services is now backed with quite sophisticated and advanced technology. The International Virtual e-Hospital will provide all national and regional telemedicine centers with telemedicine units, in addition to tele-presence stations and computer networks.
The majority of doctors and nurses have never used telemedicine units. For that reason IVeH developed a specially tailored theoretical and hands-on training programme. The theoretical part of the training programme is on its way, and the hands-on component will start with the installation of the equipment which is expected within months.
SETimes: According to the project, the US Army Corps of Engineers "will construct or rehabilitate spaces for all 14 regional telemedicine centers throughout the hospitals in Albania". How important is that for patients who will receive the health services without having to travel to Tirana?
Latifi: The partnership with USACE is crucial for the implementation of the project. USAID Albania supported the first phase of the project with funding relative to the work IVeH is completing and project deliverables.
IVeH is equipping the National Telemedicine Center in Tirana, as well as five Regional Telemedicine Centers in Kukes, Shkodra, Durres, Korca and Vlora with a budget slightly under $750,000. This amount includes training as well.
SETimes: The Initiate, Build, Operate, Transfer (IBOT) model was used in Kosovo. Will you establish the model in Albania?
Latifi: In five years, Kosovo has developed a programme made up of one national and seven regional Telemedicine Centres. Similarly to what IVeH is planning to do in Albania, IVeH built the telemedicine network in Kosovo, operated it and then transferred to the University Clinical Center of Pristina and the respective regional hospitals. The Telemedicine Programme of Kosovo is now an integrated part of the country's healthcare system.
The same model is being applied in Albania: just now, we are in the phase of building the programme.
SETimes: What does the project mean in practical terms for patients in Albania and in neighboring countries?
Latifi: Patients will benefit from all the components of the project. First, a large number of patients will not have to travel long hours for a second opinion, or even treatment, because they can be provided over distance. Second, there are many patients who face emergency problems. There are many examples in trauma and emergency medicine of lifesaving telemedicine interventions.
In addition, there are many indirect benefits for the patients: better trained doctors and nurses and a medical staff that has access to the most contemporary developments in the field of medicine.
As far as neighboring countries are concerned, IVeH has just completed another US-funded project aimed at improving regional collaboration, using telemedicine as a platform.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Linda Karadaku
Quelle/Source: Southeast European Times, 13.09.2010
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