A cost-benefit analysis of the effect of shipboard telemedicine in a selected oceanic region

Data from a selected oceanic region, the UK search and rescue region, were used to establish the average annual number of ship diversions and emergenc y service call-outs arising from urgent medical problems of passengers or c rew. During the period 1997-8 there were 228 medical evacuations. An attemp t was made to estimate the extent to which some or all of the diversions an d call-outs could have been averted if telemedical facilities had been avai lable on-board the ships. The analysis showed that telemedicine would be an expensive alternative to existing evacuation methods, but did not allow fo r the fact that helicopter and lifeboat evacuations cannot be carried out i n bad weather or at distances over 200 nautical miles (370 km) from land. T aking into consideration the cost of ship diversions in such circumstances produces completely different results. Telemedicine could clearly provide s ubstantial cost-savings for the shipping industry, and a separate analysis focused on the shipowner alone would make an overwhelming economic argument for investment in a telemedicine service simply on the strength of diversi on avoidance.