By Corey D. Ranslem
Yachts continue to sail to the far reaches of the globe to explore new and exciting places. However, medical support in those remote locations has typically been hours or sometimes days away. Medical Support Offshore (MSOS) has launched a tool to help yachts maintain a critical medical link regardless of where they are in the world. Themis is designed to be used by the Medical Officer onboard or crew members to connect the patient directly to the doctor. The Themis Telemedical Communication Platform (TCP) is a ‘Case Management’ system that provides the capability for recording all medical information for an incident, including measuring vital signs, and in real-time, transmitting the information to the MSOS onshore Control Room. The purpose of the system is to provide full availability of all information regarding a casualty, including physiological parameters and medical background, to the advising Doctor.” Comments Dr. Spike Briggs, the Managing Director of MSOS.
Dr. Briggs has been involved in various aspects of remote medical support for over 25 years. This type of technology aids in rapidly transmitting data from the patient to the doctor. It also provides a video link so the doctor can see what is happening with the patient. This type of subjective analysis is essential in developing the patient diagnosis. “I know from my 25 years experience of Remote Medicine, that this makes a significant contribution to the understanding of not only the potential diagnosis, but also just how unwell a patient might be, and whether evacuation may be required.” Says Briggs.
Briggs says that Themis can be expanded to include other point-of-care tests that may be required by the client. Expanded point-of-care tests could include ultrasound, more sophisticated blood tests, and microbiological disease analysis along with others. This type of medical support improves rapid assessment and patient care. Briggs says that training can be a half-day or a day-long session and can be delivered either face-to-face or remotely.
