Preliminary Results of a Clinical Evaluation of Alternative Modes of Communication for the Delivery of Health Care to Remote Areas

Abstract

This paper is an interim report presenting some preliminary results obtained from a clinical experiment comparing alternative telecommunication systems used to conduct medical diagnosis remotely. The four two-way systems examined are color television, black and white television, still-frame television (TV pictures updated every 30 seconds) and hands-free telephone. To date we have found no significant differences among the four systems in the relative accuracy of the diagnoses obtained over them, in patient management, in the time taken to conduct a diagnostic session, in the reliance on investigations to assist in diagnosis, nor in the rate of referral of the patients to specialists. These results stand in stark contrast to the presumptions held by many that television, and especially color television is needed if a health care delivery system is to provide adequate care to medically remote populations.