Health

This summary is part of a research project carried out between March and October 2006 in support of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), one of The Communication Initiative (The CI)'s partners.

The Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation (VRF) is a non-profit organisation that aims to improve the health and future of Russian children. The rationale for this tele-healthcare project is based on the high incidence of children with cancer in the St. Petersburg area and the lack of a cancer screening programme for children, resulting in late diagnoses, lengthy hospitalisation, and poor prognoses.

The oncology unit of First Municipal Children’s Hospital (part of St. Petersburg Children’s Hospital) is responsible for leukemia treatment in Russia’s northwest region. Prior to the connectivity provided by the tele-healthcare project, physicians had no access to the larger medical community outside of St. Petersburg. There was a need but no means for the physicians to have contact with their colleagues throughout Russia and in the West. Additionally, patients outside of the city had no access to specialists unless they made the trip to the hospital.

Initiated in 1999, the Telemedicine Healthcare Network for Tackling Child Cancer was created to develop an international tele-healthcare network in order to provide St. Petersburg-based medical personnel with the skills and technology needed to effectively manage children with cancer. The network links the First Municipal Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg to the Lombardi Cancer Centre and Georgetown University Children’s Medical Centre in Washington D.C., and has recently expanded to also link with medical staff in Europe. These linkages contribute to the fulfillment of Russian specialists’ educational and consultative needs.

The following were the primary objectives of this project:

• Creation of a model system to determine technical requirements for the transmission cross-culturally of medical knowledge;
• Building of a foundation resulting in substantial improvement in survival rates for children suffering from leukaemia;
• Improvement in care for children with cancer.

Although the project began as a high tech project, it has transformed into a lower-tech system using desktop computers, internet access, a server, digital imaging and scanning equipment for medical consultations via email, and a digital miscroscope with monitor. A universal information system that can be used in partner countries is also under development.

Consultations between St. Petersburg Hospital physicians and physicians in Europe and the United States occur regularly. Additionally, various hospital staff use the system, with some having purchased their own equipment in order to access it. Medical staff are also using the system to gain the most up-to-date medical research through the internet.

Partnerships between the St. Petersburg Hospital physicians and physicians in Europe and the United States, as well as with healthcare workers in other parts of Russia, have enabled improved quality of care and faster diagnoses.

With the establishment of the network, consultations between partners take place on a regular basis, leading to an improved ability to treat patients.

Difficulties were experienced in obtaining a quality high-speed internet connection for the hospital. Another challenge indentified was the ability for the project to generate enough income to render the tele-healthcare network self-sustainable financially. In addition, the electronic browser-based medical records initially planned as part of the project were later considered overly ambitious and unnecessary to achieving project goals.

International patient consults are effective through the use of email with attached medical images. The fact that the project was kept low-tech has contributed to the system’s sustainability and user-friendliness.

Project expansion and local sustainability plans are proceeding well. St. Petersburg’s Health Committee is providing maintenance funding and investing in improving connectivity. A consultative diagnostic centre for paediatrics at the First Municipal Hospital is also being created based on the project’s success.