Telemedical Marit Assistance Service by Fire Safety Headquarter

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Telemedical maritime assistance service (TMAS) is performed in several ways when a seafarer falls sick under circumstances where the ship is far away from shore without possibility of medevac. The current methods operating in Korea are described and compared in order to grasp the actual circumstances in terms of importance. METHODS: From June 2012 to July 2013, a total of 523 cases were consulted roughly by means of satellite-phone, e-mail, and website homepage at TMAS center of Busan metropolitan city fire safety headquarters and the final clinical outcomes of these registered cases according to illness or injury after a certain period of time was studied retrospectively. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences in classification of ship company, headquarters of ship company informed, added photos, added drug-list, and final clinical outcome (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.027, respectively) according to whether or not homepage-consultation were observed between crossed-analyzed groups; and significant differences in age-group, consult through satellite-phone, added photos, and final clinical outcome according to illness or injury were observed between crossed-analyzed groups (p<0.001, p=0.046, p=0.017, p<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The website designated for TMAS is expected to play a positive role. In addition, education of seafarers should also be implemented at the same time because the off-shore circumstances are quite different from those of onshore.