Internet teleconferencing as a clinical tool for anesthesiologists

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Telecommunications Technology
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Virtual meetings are increasingly used for global collaboration.
• Anesthesiology practitioners, particularly the Society for Advanced Telecommunications in Anesthesia (SATA), are adopting virtual grand rounds.
• Existing teleconferencing software presents opportunities and challenges for medical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate currently available Internet teleconferencing software for virtual medical meetings.
• To share early experiences and impressions of using desktop conferencing in anesthesiology.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of two teleconferencing systems: White Pine Software CU-SeeMe and Microsoft NetMeeting.
• Six months of practical application in holding virtual Internet meetings for grand rounds.
• Assessment of audio and video quality, ease of use, and performance under different network conditions.

Main Results:

• Both CU-SeeMe and NetMeeting provided acceptable results for virtual meetings.
• CU-SeeMe is more suitable for multi-participant conferences (>2).
• NetMeeting offers superior audio-video quality in crowded networks and for two-participant conferences.
• Internet teleconferencing yields lower quality than dedicated systems but is cost-effective.

Conclusions:

• Internet teleconferencing software is a valuable, accessible tool for clinicians and researchers.
• Despite lower fidelity than dedicated systems, its cost and availability enhance its utility for virtual medical education and collaboration.
• Effort is required to optimize teleconferencing systems for effective use in medical practice.