PAGE 8

Page 8

This can lead to increased communication between health service facilities, and facilitate cross-site and inter-country collaboration and networking. Such collaborations can support health-care providers in remote locations through distance learning and training. Telemedicine also provides opportunities for learning and professional development by enabling the provision and dissemination of general information and the remote training of health-care professionals. As Zbar and colleagues asserted, “Telemedicine creates a university without borders that fosters academic growth and independence because the local participating surgeons have direct access to experts in the developed world.” For example referred specialists have reported value in terms of medical education through the provision of consultation. It is important to note that such partnerships provide mutual benefits. For example, health-care providers in developed nations are provided with an opportunity to learn to treat neglected diseases, which they very seldom see in person. The knowledge sharing that occurs as a result of inter-site collaboration may be formal or informal and has shown to aid health-care professionals in overcoming the professional isolation that they often face in remote areas, and to improve their skills and the services they offer. A telemedicine programme to support maternal and neonatal health in Mongolia exemplifies many of these points.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8