Evaluating telemedicine in an accident and emergency setting.

This paper outlines the methodology of an evaluation of telemedicine in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) setting. Telemedicine technology consisting of ISDN 2 based videoconferencing and 'store & forward' software has been installed and is currently being evaluated in two minor injury units (MIUs) and a District General Hospital (DGH) A&E department in Lincolnshire. A cost-benefit analysis will be conducted using a pragmatic prospective case-control study with both a concurrent and retrospective control group. Any differences in resource use (including direct and indirect costs) between the intervention (Telemedicine) and the control (No Telemedicine) groups will be identified from both a patient and NHS perspective. A variety of health and non-health outcome measures will be recorded including staff and patient acceptability of the new technology.