Introduction
The development of technology has enabled the introduction of telemedicine in the health care system. One of the recent implementations of this field is real-time remote monitoring in triage and priority-based sensor technology. To assess its credibility, evaluate outcomes, indicate challenges, and provide recommendations for the improvement, an extensive search was conducted. The authors of the article “Systematic Review of Real-time Remote Health Monitoring System in Triage and Priority-Based Sensor Technology: Taxonomy, Open Challenges, Motivation and Recommendations” examined a large number of articles related to real-time remote health monitoring technology and provided their overview and analysis. The discussion of benefits and challenges was concluded by the recommendations about further improvement of the technology. In this summary, all these sections of the article mentioned above article will be summarized.
Telemedicine: general overview
The authors provide historical background and a brief overview of telemedicine technology. First, they define it as a “remote medical practice that allows coordination among different individuals and … collaboration efforts in diagnosing or treating a disease through information technologies” [1, p. 1]. This concept is related to telehealth as a broader term that “refers to clinical and non-clinical services, such as education, management, or research” [1, p. 2]. Telemedicine enables remote diagnosis, medical checking, monitoring, prescription of medications, and the provision of services.
The benefit of telemedicine is evident, as it provides an alternative to the traditional conduct of health care procedures in hospitals. Medical organizations may lose their effectiveness due to the increasing number of patients and limited human resources. The challenges that may be faced by them are related to the “prioritisation of emergency cases,” especially in “triaging patients to the emergency department [1, p. 2]. Real-time sensor monitoring technology can help to solve this problem by performing triage procedures (identifying the level of emergency of the patients’ cases). This procedure includes monitoring patients’ vital signs, identifying “those who can safely wait and those who cannot” [1, p. 2]. Thus, the implementation of a real-time remote health monitoring system is highly beneficial.
Literature: taxonomy
The authors examined a large number of articles related to the subject and divided it into two categories. The first category includes reviews and surveys of triage and priority-based sensor technology in telemedicine. The second category contains the literature that investigates the three-tiered architecture of telemedicine. Tier 1 examines the process of collecting the data (patients’ vital signs) by sensors; the possible technological drawbacks are overviewed. Tier 2 discusses “personal gateway that uses local area network protocols or wireless body area network” [1, p. 2]. From Tier 2, information is processed to Tier 3, which is the medical organization that provides health care. The information is analyzed by the specialists, and the required actions are performed.
In the article, the authors describe the process of finding sources by using search engines and digital libraries. They select the appropriate keywords and limit the search to ensure the relevance of the literature. The next step is the systematizing of the sources, distributing them by the subjects, as well as by additional criteria, such as publication years, and nationality of the author.
Discussion and recommendations
After the literature review, the authors proceed with a discussion based on the information from the sources. They describe the benefits of the examined technology for patients and medical organizations. However, they argue that telemedicine has some challenges, such as “congestion, interference, data priority, and transmitting data” [1, p. 17]. The authors recommend some improvements to the technology and its optimal use by patients and medical organizations.
Conclusion
Thus, in the article, the sources on real-time remote health monitoring in triage and priority-based sensor technology are examined in detail. The authors provide their taxonomy accordingly to the subjects of the articles, as well as some additional criteria. The overview of the literature is followed by the discussion of the question, analysis of the benefits of the technology, and existing challenges. After that, the recommendations are proposed, making the research paper complete.
Reference
1. O. S. Albahri, A. S. Albahri, K. I. Mohammed, A. A. Zaidan, B. B. Zaidan, M. Hashim, and Omar H. Salman. “Systematic Review of Real-time Remote Health Monitoring System in Triage and Priority-Based Sensor Technology: Taxonomy, Open Challenges, Motivation and Recommendations,” Journal of Medical Systems, Vol. 42, No. 80, pp. 1-27, 2018.