The 16th International Meeting of the Mediterranean Society of Otology and Audiology took place in Israel on 13–16 May. Distinguished Mediterranean specialists and leading clinicians and researchers from around the world attended. Poland’s representatives included Associate Professor Piotr H. Skarżyński, MD, PhD.
Professor Piotr H. Skarżyński delivered a specially invited lecture during the panel Telemedicine in Otology. He presented the achievements of the National Network of Teleaudiology, a telemedicine model incorporating remote diagnosis, treatment and telerehabilitation. He also participated in round-table discussions at Mini Symposium: Newborn Screening Programs and Implantable Hearing Devices.
The discussion Newborn Screening Programs also featured Natalie Loundon of France as moderator, Peter Gilbey as chair, Cahtia Adelman, Daphne Ari-Even Roth, Arie Gordin and Margalith Kaminer of Israel, and Eva Orzan of Italy. The Implantable Hearing Devices panel included chairman Ebrahim Magamse, Avraham Goldfarb of Israel, moderator Maurizio Barbara of Italy, Wolf Dieter Baumgartner of Austria, Manuel Manrique of Spain and Levent Sennaroglu of Turkey.
The National Network of Teleaudiology is a trusted platform for telefitting, remote diagnosis, teleconsultation and telerehabilitation. It improves patient services and saves significant time and money. With appropriate care models, telemedicine can help address growing numbers of patients with hearing loss while retaining access to essential expert knowledge.
Diagnosing, rehabilitating and caring for patients with hearing defects, often using implants or hearing aids, requires an experienced multidisciplinary team and continuous, regular clinic follow-up. For many patients, this means long journeys, costs and travel fatigue. The National Network of Teleaudiology was established to reduce this burden and enable other specialists to benefit from the World Hearing Center team’s experience. Telemedicine enables examinations and support for patients, young doctors and researchers, including at distant centres.
Poland currently has 26 centres connected in a continually developing telemedicine network, the only system of its kind in this medical field. Patients can attend cooperating facilities nationwide for follow-up and checks of their hearing implant processors. Further expansion is planned, including new diagnostic and research methods and a broader range of services.
The Mediterranean Society of Otology and Audiology, founded in 1987, is a distinctive and prestigious organisation promoting scientific activity and cooperation in otology and audiology throughout the region.
