Abstract
Over a two-year period, telemedicine was used to deliver training and development services for health, education and welfare staff in two remote towns in South Australia - Roxby Downs and Coober Pedy. Both are mining towns but they have different profiles in terms of the community's mental health needs. The services were provided by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide, South Australia. The media used were videoconferencing, telephone, video-tapes, the Internet and printed material. During 1998-9, professional staff in the two locations participated in structured videoconferencing seminars that addressed important mental health topics, chosen in response to surveys of the needs of the participants. The videoconferencing sessions were sometimes used to discuss specific patient cases. Each remote town was also supported via videoconferencing by a nominated office of the CAMHS: Roxby Downs by the suburban office at Port Adelaide and Coober Pedy by the office in the industrial town of Port Pirie. This customized support was an important factor in the success of the professional development network.
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