PLANNING CRITERIA FOR MULTICENTER, MULTILINGUAL TELEMEDICINE CONFERENCES

The international telemedicine conference Chinese TeleMed 96 was held in November 1996. This three-way teleconference included delegates in London (where the international telemedicine conference TeleMed 96 was taking place) and medical staff from one Beijing hospital and one Hon g Kong medical faculty. In total, over 1000 health-care personnel acro ss eight time zones participated. The event demonstrated that the qual ity of teleconferencing technology was suitable for medical teaching, for providing medical consultations to remote locations and for stimul ating medical exchanges. In general, planning a telemedicine conferenc e requires a longer lead time, a wider representation of expertise in the organizing committee and more financial resources than conventiona l conferences. It is recommended that the aim and format of a telemedi cine conference be determined at least one year before the target date . Criteria for improving the preparation of such conferences have been identified and a set of guidelines for future conference organizers h as been drawn up.