Telemedicine consultation in ophthalmology: Extending your ophthalmic expertise and your practice

Telemedicine is a relatively new health care delivery tool. It has many potential uses. Currently, fees involved with telemedicine for equipment, telecommunication lines, and personnel are expensive with recurrent costs. It is important that telemedicine projects be evaluated in advance to anticipate these fees and to determine if there will be a cost justification for using this technology. Combining store-and-forward medical imaging with videoconferencing technology and integrating this with an electronic medical record and clinical and technical protocols are goals. Programs where the use of telemedicine has shown cost savings will be reviewed.