For a decade now, Telemedicine in hospitals has become more and more important, assisting in the implementation and ongoing support of the healthcare personnel. Thanks to it, patients and operators benefit from a fast and reliable service, designed to streamline the routine cases handled by the Health Care System. With the further advancement of technologies in the biomedical field, adapting and embracing these innovative techniques is the smartest and most far-sighted choice, as shown by the commitment in Telemedicine described in the PNRR
As part of the project dedicated to the Val Susa and Val Sangone District of ASL TO3, the service was brought to the Ospedale Civile in Susa.
Biotechware has built an ad hoc solution starting from the needs of the Local Health Authority, allowing the facilities in the district to carry out cardiological diagnostic tests in Telemedicine.
The project was born in 2018 with the aim of expanding the offer of proximity public health services with a high social impact in the district. Particular attention was paid to the cardiology diagnostics service, aimed at reducing the workload of hospital medical staff. Thanks to the solution devised by Biotechware for cases that do not require a stay in the facility, such as preoperative ECGs or other types of routine checks, staff can devote themselves to activities that really require access to the facility. The benefit is evident both for the patient, who will be able to carry out the examination even from areas lacking cardiological staff, and then send it directly to the designated Reporting Center, and for the structure, which optimizes its productivity while maintaining a level of quality guaranteed by the tailor-made service provided by Biotechware.
The facilities involved in the project are:
- Ospedale degli Infermi in Rivoli
- Health Center in Avigliana
- Nursing Home Assistance in Avigliana
- Outpatient Clinic in OulxÂ
- Outpatient Clinic in CondoveÂ
- Civil Hospital in Susa
The Susa Hospital was the last unit of the District involved in the project. On Wednesday 20 April, Stefano Cotta Ramusino, Biotechware Medical Hub Manager and Software Engineer, and Roberta Faonio, Biotechware Sales Account Executive, went to the hospital to activate the service and train the staff to use the medical device, as shown in the cover photo, in order to allow this facility to easily carry out cardiological diagnostic tests in telemedicine.
The Solution
The solution provides that from the Val Susa and Val Sangone districts are performed resting ECG exams, which are sent in Telemedicine to the Cardiology department of the Hospital in Rivoli for reporting, then once the report has been issued the document is made available for all users involved.
Resting ECG recording is performed by CardioPad Pro, Biotechware’s portable professional electrocardiograph. Using the Wi-Fi connection, the device sends the ECG trace to the Cloud Biotechware Platform, through which the cardiologists of the Rivoli hospital can view and report the exam. The Biotechware Portal, a CE marked medical device, allows not only the reporting but also the transmission and storage of medical data. All the actors involved can access the Platform through users with personalized interfaces based on their role: doctors, healthcare professionals or patients.
The numbers and the evolution of the project
The use of Telemedicine solutions has allowed the transit of more than 2500 electrocardiograms between the mountain districts and the cardiologists of the Rivoli headquarters in the Turin area.
The project involves:
- 32 nurses trained in different sessions by Biotechware’s staff
- 25 cardiologists trained in reporting on the Biotechware Platform
- 5 operational offices, of which 4 in the Val Susa and Val Sangone ASL TO3 District and 1 in the ASL TO3 Metropolitan Area Center District.Â
The project stems from the common desire to enhance the proximity services of public health. Once the project representatives have been established, identified in the persons of Dr. Ferdinando Varbella (Head of Cardiology in Rivoli), Dr. Mara Simoncini (Director of the Metropolitan Center Area District) and Dr. Daniela Zanella (Director of the Val Susa and Val Sangone District), Biotechware immediately began the collaboration with the operational coordinators, Dr. Pier Giuseppe Genovese and Dr. Emanuele Tizzani, providing them with the CardioPad Pro, purchased by the Magnetto Foundation and donated to the TO3 ASL.
Below is the evolution of the project to date:
- 2018 Start of the project
- 2019 Biotechware participates in the Cardio-Cerebro Vascular Prevention Day at the Giaveno Health Center. Several meetings took place with the actors of the TO3 ASL aimed at a possible expansion of the pilot project to other districts
- 2020 Temporary interruption of the project due to the Covid emergency
- 2021 The service extends to the preoperative surgery of the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Avigliana Health Center
- 2022 The Cardiology Clinic of the Avigliana Health Center resumes with the execution of the ECGs, temporarily interrupted due to the Covid 19 emergency, and the service is also activated in the Susa Hospital.
During the years of development of the project, Biotechware has been committed to building a tailor-made solution, which can be integrated with pre-existing systems and is easy to use, always maintaining the high quality standards that distinguish it on the market.
The doctors, reporting from their workstations in Rivoli, with a simple click access exams performed several kilometers away, issue the reports and make them available to patients and all interested health professionals.
The project testifies to the efficiency and importance of a technological approach to telemedicine in the health sector.