Tele-otolaryngology consultations between two rural primary-care centres in southern Lapland and the University Hospital of Umea

In 1996 a telemedicine link was established between two primary-care centre s of Vasterbotten county and the University Hospital. Specialties involved at the University Hospital were otoloaryngology, orthopaedics and dermatolo gy. Videoconferencing used ISDN at 384 kbit/s. The primary-care centres wer e equipped with video-endoscopes. During the first 21 months, there were 32 otolaryngology consultations. The average time for each consultation was b etween 15 and 30 min. Patients, general practitioners and specialists were interviewed using questionnaires with answers on a six-point scale, in whic h a score of six was best. Patient satisfaction produced a mean score of 5. 7. The specialist doctors rated the video-consultation satisfactory for dia gnosis. Roughly 40% of the referrals could be avoided by telemedicine. The general practitioners rated the educational effect of the consultation very highly.