Telecardiology Screening in Athletes: A Feasibility e-Health Study

The objective of this study was to enhance the accessibility of athletes to cardiovascular pre-participation screening services and to improve their well-being in a region by means of assessing the feasibility and sustainability of a telemedicine project. The project was undertaken by a non-profit institution. A feasibility analysis was performed based upon the scenario of transferring a medical team to the athlete’s location. A sample of 506 athletes preceded the analysis to gather information about the process of pre-participation screening. The cost analysis included the capital, operational, maintenance and administrative costs, while monetized benefits included transportation and opportunity cost savings. The net present value and the ratio of benefits to costs were used to measure the performance of the investment project. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted with demand and variable cost to represent the main sources of uncertainty. The uncertainty assessment revealed that the probability of having positive or negative net assets is evenly distributed and that small changes in the variable cost lead to high changes in net assets. The analysis showed a benefit-cost ratio above unity and a positive net present value. Investing in a telemedicine intervention project of pre-participation screening to athletes is socially desirable. Financial sustainability can be improved by controlling-monitoring specific variable costs.