Assessing the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructures of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in order to Implement the Telemedicine System in 2013

Abstract

Introduction: As health services and facilities are more centered in the large cities, small towns and villages are somehow deprived of such services. A sound solution to this unbalanced distribution of health resources is implementation of telemedicine. As Shiraz University of Medical sciences is the organization providing health services to people in Fars Province, the purpose of this study was to examine the IT infrastructure of this university to implement telemedicine in Fars Province in 2013. Materials and Methods: This research was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The study population included 20 specified centers of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences for the implementation of teleconsultation in Fars Province. Since the study population was limited, sampling was not performed. The means of data collection was the checklists based on a collection of world standards (Standards of India, United States, and Australia). The resulting data were analyzed through descriptive statistical methods, using the SPSS software, version 16.Results: Our findings showed that 70% of the centers had the desktop PC platform, 100% had the laptop platform, but none of the centers had any portable platforms. Furthermore, 14% of the investigated centers had the required clinical devices, 70% had display monitors with the maximum resolution, 75% had the leased line communication platform, 35% had optic fibers, and 35% had GPRS communication platform. Conclusion: According to the present infrastructure, implementing the most preliminary levels of teleconsultation under special condition is possible, but the university is not able to provide services in the other types of telemedicine.