Meeting the need for educational standards in the practice of telemedicineand telehealth

The first telemedicine standard to be developed, documented and adopted wid ely was the radiology standard, which includes technical and image transmis sion standards as well as requirements and qualifications needed for telera diology practice. But many other health professionals engaged either full t ime or part time in telemedicine and telehealth - for example, telepsychiat ry, telepathology, teletriage and tele-ophthalmology-also need and use spec ial skills and knowledge. At present, they acquire these skills on the job and their skills may not be recognized. There should be performance standar ds and telepractice guidelines for professionals operating in the fields of telemedicine and telehealth. Furthermore, there is a case for the developm ent and implementation of education and training standards, enabling profes sionals who practise in the field to obtain suitable skills, knowledge and recognition for telepractice.