Delivering educational programs via telephone: teleconferencing

Professionals participating in poison network programs not only need to maintain technical and scientific updatedness but also need to develop colleagual relationships between and among themselves regardless of geographic location. In an effort to achieve both objectives in a cost-effective and cost-efficient manner, we have explored the use of telephone conferencing. With the "speaker" located in Seattle, and the connecting bridge established and manned in Boise, Idaho, three one and one half hour presentations were brought to 90 sites scattered throughout rural and semi-rural Idaho; and received by more than 1,200 attendees. Hosting groups of 8-20, each location had a speaker phone enabling two-way communication to take place, i.e. they could hear the speaker and individuals could interrupt and address the speaker. Moreover, each location had a slide projector and duplicated set of slides used by the speaker in the presentation. Post presentation evaluations were obtained and the actual costs of the entire program have been determined. As a group utilizing telephones as a way of life, members of the AAPCC have an opportunity to lead the way in validating and verifying the effectiveness and potential cost savings of telephone conferences.