Background: Telemedicine services have been successfully used in areas where there are adequate infrastructures such as reliable power and communication lines. However, despite the increasing number of merchants and seafarers, maritime and Arctic telemedicine have had limited success. This might be linked with various factors such as lack of good infrastructure, lack of trained onboard personnel, lack of Arctic-enhanced telemedicine equipment, extreme weather conditions, remoteness, and other geographical challenges. Objective: The purpose of this review was to assess and analyze the current status of telemedicine services in the context of maritime conditions, extreme weather (ie, Arctic weather), and remote accidents and emergencies. Moreover, the paper aimed to identify successfully implemented telemedicine services in the Arctic region and in maritime settings and remote emergency situations and present state of the art systems for these areas. Finally, we identified the status quo of telemedicine services in the context of search and rescue (SAR) scenarios in these extreme conditions. Methods: A rigorous literature search was conducted between September 7 and October 28, 2015, through various online databases. Peer reviewed journals and articles were considered. Relevant articles were first identified by reviewing the title, keywords, and abstract for a preliminary filter with our selection criteria, and then we reviewed full-text articles that seemed relevant. Information from the selected literature was extracted based on some predefined categories, which were defined based on previous research and further elaborated upon via iterative brainstorming. Results: The initial hits were vetted using the title, abstract, and keywords, and we retrieved a total of 471 papers. After removing duplicates from the list, 422 records remained. Then, we did an independent assessment of the articles and screening based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, which eliminated another 219 papers, leaving 203 relevant papers. After a full-text assessment, 36 articles were left, which were critically analyzed. The inter-rater agreement was measured using Cohen Kappa test, and disagreements were resolved through discussion. Conclusions: Despite the increasing number of fishermen and other seafarers, Arctic and maritime working conditions are mainly characterized by an absence of access to health care facilities. The condition is further aggravated for fishermen and seafarers who are working in the Arctic regions. In spite of the existing barriers and challenges, some telemedicine services have recently been successfully delivered in these areas. These services include teleconsultation (9/37, 24%), teleradiology (8/37, 22%), teledermatology and tele-education (3/37, 8%), telemonitoring and telecardiology (telesonography) (1/37, 3%), and others (10/37, 27%). However, the use of telemedicine in relation to search and rescue (SAR) services is not yet fully exploited. Therefore, we foresee that these implemented and evaluated telemedicine services will serve as underlying models for the successful implementation of future search and rescue (SAR) services. [JMIR Med Inform 2017;5(2):e16]

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Telemedicine Services for the Arctic: A Systematic Review

The chapter explains the challenges facing health care systems; the overview of telemedicine; the technological devices of telemedicine systems; telemedicine and chronic diseases; telemedicine and technology acceptance model (TAM); the applications of telemedicine in the oil and gas industry; and the importance of telemedicine in global health care. Telemedicine brings the health care value through its ability for the remote visits with patients, immediate access to health care professionals, real-time access to health data, and health monitoring capabilities. Telemedicine is an effective health care measure that can manage the new and affordable technology with the potential to deliver the convenient and effective care to patients, and provides an alternative way for the health care organizations to deliver the essential health outcomes. The chapter argues that applying telemedicine has the potential to increase health care performance and gain sustainable competitive advantage in global health care.

The Importance of Telemedicine in Global Health Care

BACKGROUND Offshore industries operate all around the world in diverse and remote environments. The use of telemedicine to ensure up-to-date medical care for thousands of people offshore has been common practice for decades. Thus, in this setting, extensive experiences with this type of health care delivery have already been gathered, while in other settings this is just beginning. However, the quality of telemedical care on offshore installations is rarely reported yet. The objective of this review was to explore published literature with regards to the following questions: Have any Quality Indicators (QIs) been published for measuring the quality of telemedical care on offshore installations or are there identifiable items that could be used as such QIs? METHODS We conducted a comprehensive Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) of the published literature using the databases MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science (Core Collection), and Google Scholar. Search results were read and QIs or findings from which QIs could be derived were classified according to the dimensions of quality established by Donabedian (structure, process, or outcome QIs). RESULTS The search returned 10,236 non-recurring articles, 45 of which were full-text screened and 15 of which were included in this review. Types of publications were heterogenous. No QIs for the quality of telemedical care offshore have been published yet. Findings that could be the basis for QIs focused on structure quality (11 QIs) followed by process quality (11 QIs), while outcome quality was less common (1 QI). CONCLUSION Currently, although years of experience with telemedical care on offshore installations exist, there is a paucity of research on a solid data base regarding the quality of telemedical care offshore. The authors derived a list of 24 possible QIs from the findings of the publications for further validation. This could be the basis for implementation and definition of QIs in this and in similar remote settings.

Quality indicators of telemedical care offshore-a scoping review.

Remote Health Care: A Game Changer for the Arctic

The impacts of artificial intelligence on managerial skills

Telemedicine in Oil and Gas: Current Status and Potential Improvements☆

There is increasing interest in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve organizational decision-making. However, research indicates that people’s trust in and choice to rely on “AI decision aids” can be tenuous. In the present paper, we connect research on trust in AI with Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman’s (1995) model of organizational trust to elaborate a conceptual model of trust, perceived risk, and reliance on AI decision aids at work. Drawing from the trust in technology, trust in automation, and decision support systems literatures, we redefine central concepts in Mayer et al.’s (1995) model, expand the model to include new, relevant constructs (like perceived control over an AI decision aid), and refine propositions about the relationships expected in this context. The conceptual model put forward presents a framework that can help researchers studying trust in and reliance on AI decision aids develop their research models, build systematically on each other’s research, and contribute to a more cohesive understanding of the phenomenon. Our paper concludes with five next steps to take research on the topic forward.

Kine Reegård

Papers

Telemedicine in Oil and Gas: Current Status and Potential Improvements☆

A Conceptual Model of Trust, Perceived Risk, and Reliance on AI Decision Aids

The Future of Telemedicine in O&G

Human Factors and Ergonomics in Energy Industries