Open AccessA Systematic Review of the Use of Telemedicine in the Military Forces Worldwide
Author(s) -
Réza Mohammadi,
Zeinab Tabanejad,
Shahabeddin Abhari,
Behnam Honarvar,
Mina Lazem,
Masoumeh Maleki,
Ali Garavand
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
shiraz e medical journal.
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.195
H-Index - 10
ISSN - 1735-1391
DOI - 10.5812/semj.99343
Subject(s) - telemedicine , scopus , context (archaeology) , health care , data extraction , inclusion and exclusion criteria , inclusion (mineral) , systematic review , medicine , medline , medical emergency , alternative medicine , psychology , political science , pathology , paleontology , social psychology , law , biology
Context: Considering the pivotal role of telemedicine in providing healthcare services for remote areas, some of the military medical centers, especially in developed countries, use different types of telemedicine programs. Objectives: The present study aimed at identifying the implemented telemedicine projects in military medicine worldwide and introducing their features. Evidence Acquisition: The current systematic review was performed in 2018. PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for articles published from 2014 to 2018 by a combination of related keywords, and the related original articles were then selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected by a data extraction form, and then the data were summarized and reported based on the study objectives. Results: Of the 173 articles retrieved from the first round of search, 12 were included in the study; five (41.66%) studies had used the synchronous (real-time telemedicine) method. The United States, with nine studies, had the highest number of projects in military telemedicine. Most studies (n = 7) were performed on tele-psychology and the application of telemedicine in psychology. All selected studies reported the positive effects of telemedicine on providing healthcare for military forces. Conclusions: The proper utilization of telemedicine equipment is effective in saving time for both patients and healthcare providers, reducing costs, supporting in natural disasters, and satisfying patients with military medicine. To achieve telemedicine program objectives, they should be set precisely. Considering the importance of timely healthcare services, it is suggested to utilize synchronous methods and tools such as video conferencing.