Title: Teleconsultation in remote care stations: cost-minimisation analysis of the Guianese experiment

Authors: N. Nassiri, M. Le Goff-Pronost, A. Nassiri

Addresses: GET – TELECOM Bretagne, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications de Bretagne, departement LUSSI/CREM, Centre de recherche en economie et management)/M@rsouin, Technopole Brest Iroise, CS 83818, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France. ' GET – TELECOM Bretagne, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications de Bretagne, departement LUSSI/CREM, Centre de recherche en economie et management)/M@rsouin, Technopole Brest Iroise, CS 83818, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France. ' Universite de Bretagne Occidentale, Faculte des Sciences Juridiques, Economiques et de Gestion, 20 Avenue Le Gorgeu – CS 93837, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to carry out a cost-minimisation analysis in order to measure the cost saving performances of teleconsultation in Guiana. Fixed and variable costs are estimated in order to identify the break-even point of teleconsultation. It also takes into account organisational and quality effects. Teleconsultation permits savings on air medical evacuation costs if 13 evacuations are avoided each year inseparably at the four stations. If stations are analysed separately, the most efficient station is Trois Sauts where telemedicine is a promising option. Saint Georges is the worst and suffers from organisational problems caused by personnel turnover.

Keywords: cost minimisation; costs; evaluation studies; telemedicine; teleconsultation; France; e-health; electronic healthcare; healthcare technology; remote care; remote healthcare; Guiana; air medical evacuation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2009.021908

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2009 Vol.2 No.1, pp.74 - 87

Published online: 09 Dec 2008 *

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