Telemedicine options appraisal for a health, district - a strategic clinical and business case

A clinical and business plan examined five areas in which telemedicine coul d be introduced to support the strategic objectives of a large health autho rity: coronary heart disease; links between community hospitals and local c are centres and acute hospitals; store-and-forward consultations; care in t he community; and mental health. The plan identified substantial clinical, organizational and, economic potential benefits, which were greatest when a radical re-engineering of the service was envisaged. Similar studies in ot her health districts would help to test these conclusions and inform future health service planning.