A three-year follow-up of Finnish telemedicine programs

The objective of the paper is to follow-up the success of Finnish telemedicine programs identified in 1996 in a nation-wide survey. The methods used are questionnaires sent to those in charge of a total of 40 telemedicine programs identified in 1996. Of the results of the programs responding to the survey (36 out of 40, i.e., 90%), 69% were still operative at the time of the follow-up in 1999. According to the respondents, one-third of the programs were deemed to have had an impact on the working process of the organization. The majority of the programs lacked a clear effect in this respect. In only four cases out of 36, the telemedicine program was deemed to have achieved savings, three of the programs had brought about extra costs, and four were cost neutral. However, in the majority of the cases, the respondents were not able to assess the financial impart of the program. The average duration of the programs still in progress was 4.2 years and those terminated was 2.5 years. The average number of patients treated in the programs still in progress was 370, i.e., approximately 88 patients per year. Of the telemedicine programs identified three years earlier, two-thirds were still in progress during the repeat survey. The average number of patients treated per year in these programs was relatively small, suggesting that telemedicine was not very successful in replacing traditional ways of delivering patient care. In line with this, only a minority of the programs were deemed to have had an effect on the working process of the organization, and cost savings were achieved in only a handful of cases.