Using videoconferencing in palliative care

Recent technological advances and reducing costs have meant that videoconfe rencing is a possible new medium for health-care teams. The IMPaCT (Interac tive Multimedia Palliative Care Training) project began in 1997 with the ai ms of assessing the practicalities of videoconferencing in palliative care and assessing its educational effectiveness. The use of videoconferencing w as closely evaluated during the first 2 years of the project and this paper presents the results of that monitoring. Twenty-two sites were linked worl dwide, reaching 136 professionals without the costs or time needed to trave l. The savings on travel and time within the UK alone would have paid for t he equipment in 1 year. Sites only continued with videoconferencing if they reached a point where their organization saw the advantages of videoconfer encing. Links were easy to establish and rarely failed regardless of distan ce. Users rapidly adapted to the new medium, and links could be used in a v ariety of settings and audiences, including journal clubs and expert worksh ops. Videoconferencing offers a new and unique way of supporting palliative care professionals while reducing time and costs for both tutors and learn ers.