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Abstract
Telemedicine and teleconsultation are the application and development of the telecommunication
networks. Health experts can solve problems by using the electronic and communication
technologies without distance limitation. In this study, we try to develop the telemedicine
and teleconsultation system between local site and consulting expert site. Two applications
of this system in clinical medicine are discussed. The system at each site has a workstation
including a cable modem or ADSL connection, a monitor, a web camera, speakers, a microphone
for communication, and NetMeeting application software. The first application in this
study is to develop a school-based intervention program by using this system for high-risk
school-age children in one of the earthquake-struck areas. The preliminary result
of this study is that the telemedicine and teleconsultation system is more effective
than traditional consultation and supervision. Moreover, we can apply this system
in training local volunteers, educators, and welfare workers. Meanwhile, we can save
lots of cost and time since we don't need to travel between the local site and the
expert site. In the end of this study, the second application of this system in SARS
case treatment was also discussed.