The Korydallos, Greece, prisons telemedicine system experience: why technology alone is not a sufficient condition.

In 1999 the Greek Ministry of Justice decided to utilise telemedicine to improve health services in the largest prison in Greece (Korydallos Prison). The Nikea Hospital in Piraeus undertook to support the effort. For 12 months following installation, intensive "hands-on" training on the use of the system was offered to the staff of both the Korydallos Prison and the Nikea Hospital. However serious operational problems related either to prison bureaucracy or to the inflexibility the Greek National Health Service has annulled the effectiveness of the Korydallos Prison telemedicine system. Still, analysis of the system development history reveals that: (1) if freed from bureaucratic and labour related obstacles, prison telemedicine is a viable option. (2) Telemedicine can avert transfers to out-of-prison medical facilities. (3) If properly implemented, telemedicine can generate substantial savings and (4) telemedicine can greatly improve the quality of care available to prisoners.

A clinical and educational telemedicine link between Bulgaria and Greece.

During its transition to a free economy, Bulgaria benefited from foreign aid provided by Greece. One of the projects was the clinical and educational telemedicine link between the Medical University of Varna in Bulgaria and the Faculty of Medicine of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. This began in 1997. In terms of the educational activities, the Bulgarian side of the network supports (a) electronic design and publishing activities, (b) web hosting and mail server activities and (c) satellite communications. In addition it supports an electronic classroom equipped with personal workstations, multimedia projectors and videoconference facilities. Communications are via the ISDN network. In terms of its telemedicine activities, the network provides remote medical assistance to "language handicapped" travellers and to migrant workers in both countries. The main clinical experience is remote consultations in immunology. This admittedly limited experience demonstrates that telemedicine can be used to provide assistance to remote colleagues. In cases where the patient cannot communicate with the attending physician, the use of telemedicine can greatly improve the quality of care available to travellers and migrant workers.

A clinical and educational telemedicine link between Bulgaria and Greece.

During its transition to a market economy, Bulgaria benefited from foreign aid provided by Greece. One of the projects was the clinical and educational telemedicine link between the Medical University of Varna in Bulgaria and the Faculty of Medicine of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. This began in 1997. In terms of the educational activities, the Bulgarian side of the network supports: an electronic classroom equipped with personal workstations, multimedia projectors and videoconference facilities; electronic design and publishing activities; Web hosting and mail server activities; and satellite communications. Communications are via ISDN. The main clinical experience has been remote consultations in immunology. This experience (admittedly limited) demonstrates that telemedicine can be used to provide assistance to remote colleagues. In addition, the use of telemedicine can greatly improve the quality of care available to travellers and migrant workers in cases where the patient cannot communicate with the attending physician because of a language barrier.

Developing prison telemedicine systems: the Greek experience.

Prison telemedicine systems operate in circumstances in which the provision of medical care is very expensive. In 1999 the Greek Ministry of Justice decided to use telemedicine to improve health services in the largest prison in Greece (Korydallos Prison, in Athens). The Nikea Hospital in Piraeus undertook to support the effort in order: to enable prison paramedics and guards to call for remote evaluation of inmates when the prison's doctors were off duty; to provide second opinions; and to allow screening and primary care coverage for inmates through teleconsultations with Nikea Hospital specialists. For 12 months following installation, intensive 'hands-on' training on the use of the system was offered to the staff of both the Korydallos Prison and the Nikea Hospital. In all, 400 physicians, nurses and paramedics were trained. Despite all this effort, there were serious operational problems related either to prison bureaucracy or to the inflexibility of the Greek national health system, which annulled the effectiveness of the prison telemedicine system. The experience suggests that prison telemedicine is a viable option if freed from bureaucratic and labour-related obstacles, and can improve the quality of care available to prisoners.