Background: During the last two years the Intervention Centre at the Nation Hospital of Norway and Ullevål Hospital have pursued a research programme in telemedicine aimed at exploring the potential of inter-hospital collaboration.
Material and methods: Both hospitals established a communication network between operating rooms and lecture halls. Sound and video from minimally invasive surgical and radiology procedures were transmitted on a wide bandwidth ATM network (34 Mbits/s) to gain experience with the use of telemedicine for educational purposes and the treatment of patients.
Results: Evaluations of technical off-line and clinical line transmissions have given us helpful information about the potential of telemedicine and what it will take to utilise this potential. With the MPEG2 standard, a wide bandwidth network yields sufficient sound and image quality for educational and clinical collaboration. However, multimedia communication requires changes in the organisation to secure quality of service in relation to technical management and telemedical production.
Interpretation: Inter-hospital collaboration on telemedicine may be a resource in clinical practice, facilitating professional enhancements, particularly in surgery, radiology and internal medicine. Changes in the organisation are needed, but they are feasible.