Developer | Ministry of Health |
Operator | Ministry of Health |
Project Promoter | Information Society Technologies Single Member SA |
Beneficiaries | Island residents and visitors, Medical Professionals, The society in general |
Project Budget | € 30,173,701.25 (including option) |
What is the National Telemedicine Network (EDIT)?
It is widely accepted that the use of telemedicine in Greece, and, in particular, in island and remote, rural and mountainous, difficult-to-access areas, is a necessary, realistic approach to meet the requirement of the Constitution regarding the equal access of all citizens to health services, regardless of their place of residence.
In 2011, an attempt was made to address the issue substantially, taking into account: (a) the causes of past failures, (b) relevant studies by the Ministry of Health for the development of telemedicine in Greece, and (c) the approach of an integrated design, which included not only a technological application or the telecommunications background, but an overall functional framework that specified the parameters of a regulatory framework, institutional coverage and procedures, ensuring the correct daily operation of an integrated telemedicine network.
In the above context, the 2nd Health Region of Piraeus and Aegean, with funding from the Operational Program “DIGITAL CONVERGENCE” 2007-2013, implemented the project: “NATIONAL TELEVISION NETWORK, DEPARTMENT OF THE 2ND HEALTH REGION OF PIRAEUS AND AEGEAN” (abbreviated as “EDIT”), which has been operating productively since the beginning of 2016, having implemented to date more than 10 000 telemedicine consultations with 10 different specialties, with the cooperation of 200 certified doctors and nurses of the National Health System.
The National Telemedicine Network (EDIT) currently includes:
- 66 Patient-Physician Telemedicine Stations (STIA) which cover Hospitals, Health Centers and Multipurpose Regional Clinics. This is the physical space where the patient is welcomed and where the examination takes place, in the presence of the treating physician. STIA are located in the remote Health Regions of the country, usually Health Centers, Multipurpose Regional Clinics and smaller health units.
- 21 Medical Consultant Telemedicine Stations (STIS), which are located in 12 hospitals of the 2nd Health Region and in the national emergency services, while a Station was also installed at Papageorgiou Hospital in Thessaloniki. STIS is the other end of a telemedicine session. It is equipped with the necessary imaging equipment in order to show the Medical Consultant the data, vital signs and image of the subject. It is configured like a STIA, with the difference that it is not equipped with diagnostic instruments, only imaging instruments. The STIS are located in Regional Hospitals and tertiary Hospitals of the 2nd Health Region of Attica.
- 170 Home Care Centers (SKOP), which are located in the homes of patients receiving home care or in social care facilities within the limits of the 2nd Health Region. SKOPs are installed in the homes of patients selected in order to provide direct communication, through the EDIT, with the Health Unit of their area. The home care and monitoring system is equipped with features that make it suitable for operating in patients’ homes or in collaboration with local care units.
- 1 Training Center at the Piraeus Health Center. The Training Center includes extensive functionality of all EDIT units (STIA, STIS and SKOP) in order to train the users of the system, i.e. the medical staff serving in the units of the National Health System that are equipped with telemedicine infrastructures.
- The Data Center that is hosted (collocation) in the (high availability) Data Center of the General Secretariat of Information Systems for Public Administration (GSISPA)
- The interconnection of EDIT units is achieved through the SYZEFXIS Public Data Network.
- The Helpdesk Center that is hosted in the 2nd Health Region.
What is the object of this Project?
The object of this project is the EXTENSION OF THE NATIONAL TELEVISION NETWORK (EDIT) to the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Health Region, i.e. the development of a system, in addition to the existing one and in direct interconnection with it (as well as upgrading the existing system in the 2nd Health Region regarding the supply of additional peripheral equipment and subscription services, as detailed in Annex I), which will consist of:
- Three hundred and five (305) new Patient-Physician Telemedicine Stations (STIA) to be installed in specific Health Units across the country. Depending on the space availability data and the operational readiness of each health facility, the STIA stations are divided into two categories:
- Large STIA units1: one hundred and thirty (130)
- Small STIA units2: one hundred and seventy-five (175)
- Thirty-five (35) new Medical Consultant Telemedicine Stations (STIS) to be installed in specific Health Units. Depending on the space availability data and the operational needs of each health facility, STIS stations are divided into two categories:
- Large STIS units3: twenty (20)
- Small wheeled STIS units4: fifteen (15).
- Physician Tablets to support STIS-T functions: five hundred (500).
- Five (5) Telemedicine Training Stations that will incorporate STIS and STIA functions; they will be used as Training Centers for the new users of the system and they will be installed in the University Hospitals of the country
- Home Care Monitoring Systems (SKOP): three thousand (3,000) with a direct connection to the EDIT and corresponding software
- Diagnostic Medical Equipment for the STIA and the training centers
- Three (3) new Regional Helpdesk Centers and one (1) Command and Control Center at the Ministry of Health.
- Telemedicine Software (Central Infrastructure – STIA, STIS, STIS-T Tablets) and its configuration services according to the implementation studies
What is the aim of the project?
The aim of the Project is the equal access of all residents of the country to high-level healthcare services provided by the National Health System, irrespective of their place of residence. The coverage of the needs of the medical and nursing staff for access to a high level of continuous education is equally important, as well as the access to sources of valid information and knowledge, together with the exercise of their duties and regardless of where they are stationed.
What objectives will it achieve?
The operational objectives of the Project are achieved through:
- the ability to provide immediate counseling and diagnostic services by experienced physicians for emergency and normal priority incidents;
- the effective tackling for the problem that distance poses;
- the reduction of unnecessary travel to large urban centers for the provision of healthcare services;
- the adoption of new methods of access to secondary healthcare, drastically reducing the burden on outpatient clinics and ERs in regional and large hospitals;
- the development of the effective networking of primary healthcare structures;
- the effective development of remote psychiatry and the overall provision of mental health services;
- the development of dynamic health prevention and promotion policies;
- the provision of continuous training and education to the medical and nursing staff serving in remote regions, in cooperation with academic and scientific bodies from Greece (University Medical Schools) and abroad.
The main objectives are summarized as follows:
- Equal access for the inhabitants and visitors of the islands to high-level health services, without the barriers posed by geographical restrictions.
- Continuous training of medical staff.
- Saving resources for the Greek State, by limiting the unnecessary transfers and the unnecessary travel of medical personnel.
- Creating a sense of security among the inhabitants of the islands.
- Promotion of the country.
- Improving the health indicators of the inhabitants of the islands.
More information