Author disclosures The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.
Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the US Government, or any of its agencies.
Ms. Huntzinger is a Nurse and Case Manager and Dr. Bielefeldt is the Chief of the gastroenterology section at George E. Wahlen VAMC in Salt Lake City, Utah. Correspondence: Dr. Bielefeldt (klaus.bielefeldt@va.gov)
Although the experiences of the team at George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center support the use of telemedicine in specialty clinics, the next phase of the project needs to address the utility of this approach and define the perceived value and potential problems of telemedicine. Obtaining this insight will require complex data sets with feedback from patients and referring and consulting providers. As trade-offs will likely vary between different diseases or symptoms, such studies will provide a better definition of clinical scenarios best suited for remote encounters. In addition, they may provide approximate values for distance or efforts that may make the cost of a direct clinic visit worth it, thereby defining boundary-condition.
