IMPLEMENTING REMOTE PATHOLOGY IN THE MEDICAL CENTERS OF WESTERN AZERBAIJAN PROVINCE: FEASIBILE REQUIREMENTS AND LEGAL STANDARDS

Telepathology is one of the medical subdivisions that is specifically has been
taken into consideration in recent years. Telepathology is the practice of digitizing histology and
microscopic images to be transmitted by telecommunication for diagnosis, medical advice or
continuing education. It includes electronic images production to be examined in one site or another
site. At the present research, we have studied the possibility of telepathology implementation
considering the presence or lack of presence of requirement and legal standards in medical centers of
Western Azerbaijan province.
Material & Methods: This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study which was conducted in 2013.
All public and private hospitals were selected in the city of Urmia. The public sector hospitals in the
other towns of West Azerbaijan province were chosen as well. The study population was included
hospitals directors and administrators, pathologists, and informatics staff. The sample was considered
as the study population. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire which was prepared separately for
each group of the study population. Reliability was evaluated, and the data were analyzed by SPSS
statistical software.
Results: As a result, the average awareness of study population was 2/43 with 0/89 standard deviation
about telepathology. There was a significant difference between the average awareness of the hospitals
directors and administrators, pathologists and informatics staff, about telepathology. Also the
possibility of telepathology implementation by considering the presence of requirement and legal
standards was 2/18 with 0/51 standard deviation .
Conclusion: Findings show that telepathology implementation can increase the quality of health care
and the speed of patient handling, and it can lead to reduce the health costs. Also according to the rule
of legal issues, confidentiality of information, sense of responsibility and accountability in telehealth
systems, it is necessary to provide new rules and guidelines in this area. It is recommended that
hospitals should take necessary proceeding for telepathology implementing