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Medical
Case highlights beneits
of telemedicine
A
lthough telemedicine services have been supporting as they were at sea, many hundreds of nautical miles from an
the marine industry for many years, new technologies appropriately staffed hospital.
and a heightened awareness of the impact of medical Meanwhile, the medic called PRAXES emergency
incidents at sea have brought the method to the attention of specialists for advice while arrangements were being made.
shipping managers considering ways of reducing operational Following a quick review by the medic, over satellite phone, the
costs and risks.doctor asked to get some more information.
That’s according to the PRAXES Medical Group, a “Emergency medicine can be tricky because we often have
Canadian medical company specialising in TMAS (tele-medical to start treating problems due to patient instability while at
assistance at sea) for the marine and energy sectors. PRAXES the same time trying to gather more information,” explained Dr
is business partner with Clipper Ventures in the new joint Ross. “We need to always consider the worse-case-scenario
venture ClipperTelemed+, and also the global emergency and work backwards.”
medical partner for the Clipper Round the World Yacht race, He said a ‘irst principle’ of emergency diagnosis is to come
supporting it with its 24/7 emergency medical support service.up with a most likely diagnosis, but always be thinking about
The company says attitudes to telemedicine at sea are what else might be the cause.
changing as operators see the business case and are inluenced “It did sound like a possible stroke, but on further
by the Maritime Labour Convention consensus and regulators questioning, the captain did not have risk factors for a stroke.
see opportunities for more global cooperation around Other than his face, all other parts of him seemed to be
standards for TMAS. Technology advances also allow sharing working normally.”
of medical information and therefore provide better onboard One of the alternate possibilities was Bell’s palsy. It’s a
condition that can happen unexpectedly and affects the facial
care for seafarers.
Highlighting a medical incident that was dealt with swiftly nerve. There are two facial nerves, left and right that control
and without the need for a vessel diversion, ClipperTelemed+ all the muscles of the face, on each side, and it is a relatively
and PRAXES Medical Group Medical Director Dr John Ross, benign condition that resolves in several weeks.
recalled the case of a 61-year-old captain of a ship in the As the doctor and medic discussed the captain’s situation,
Arctic who called the onboard medic at 6am one day, as he was the diagnosis of Bell’s palsy emerged as more likely. The
worried he had suffered a stroke during the night while asleep.doctor asked the medic to send a few pictures of the captain,
“While brushing his teeth, he noted in the mirror that he expressionless and smiling and the diagnosis was made.
had a right facial droop and was drooling on that side,” said Dr The doctor recommended the use of a common steroid
Ross. “Additionally, he could not blink his right eye and he felt medication that the crew had onboard and the captain made a
slightly nauseated and light-headed.”full recovery in two and a half weeks.
The medic met him in the small onboard medical room and “As a result of this diagnosis, the medevac and the
examined him and conirmed his indings. An immediate call replacement captain, thousands of kilometres away, were both
was made to the ship’s management to inform them the captain cancelled,” said Dr Ross.
would have to come off the vessel and they would need an “The medic and captain were very pleased and assured by
urgent replacement. One of the crew was also tasked with thethis service. Essentially, their minds were put at ease and the
logistics of getting the captain high costs of a vessel diversion, a helicopter and
ashore to a medical facility,ixed wing medevac - as well as replacement
stafing - were all avoided.” u
The SHIP Supplier Issue 65 2015 43
