TELEMEDICINE APPLICATIONS IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY

A prospective study of the use of realtime and store-and-forward telec onsulting was carried out in patients who presented to the New York Ey e and Ear Infirmary for otolaryngology care. Forty-five patients were seen in the study. There were no significant differences between local and remote otolaryngologists when interpreting the examinations, indi cating that transmission did not affect the ability of a qualified phy sician to make an accurate diagnosis. In the store-and-forward examina tions only 62% of the electronic records provided sufficient informati on for a confident diagnosis. Records were judged inadequate primarily due to poor selection, or an insufficient number of stored images. Th e study demonstrates that both interactive and store-and-forward techn iques can be used to provide accurate clinical consultations in nasoph aryngolaryngoscopic examinations. However, since store-and-forward con sultations include less information and do not provide immediate feedb ack, a well defined clinical protocol for assembling the electronic co nsultation is needed.