Telemedicine use in two nurse-led minor injuries units

Telemedicine links were established between two nurse-led minor injuries units (MIUs) located in community hospitals and an accident and emergency department in a district general hospital. Telemedicine consultations were logged. During the first year of operation, telemedicine use was surprisingly constant, there being an average of 36 calls a month from one MIU and 16 from the other. Possible reasons for this include the clinical protocols under which nurses could refer patients to hospital. The average duration of teleconsultations was 3.5 min. Although the MIUs dealt with roughly similar numbers of patients, approximately 600-700 per month, the proportion for whom telemedicine was used was very different, at 5.2% and 2.3%.