Editor's note

Telehealth video consultation is fast becoming an important method of delivery of clinical care by physicians. This is because it brings with it important benefits, including an increase in the flexibility of interactions with patients, enhancement of the availability of services in remote or poorly supported locations, and reduction in waste by cutting travel and waiting times. Connecting to telehealth, however, is not always completely straightforward. There are important considerations relating to technical issues, as well as to the conduct of the clinical interactions themselves. There are questions about the selection of patients, relationships between providers, consent and confidentiality, and business issues. Even where efficient, high-resolution technologies are available, there may be crucial differences between what can be achieved in a face-to-face clinical encounter and what occurs through the computer screen, although whether these differences generate better or worse clinical or ethical outcomes, it is as yet too early to tell. The article that follows is the first in a series of seven proposed papers developed by the RACP Telehealth Working Group to fill some of the gaps in the available literature about telemedicine, and thereby, it is hoped, to improve its accessibility to physicians. The various contributions will provide practical guidance, as well as highlight strengths and limitations, and opportunities and possible pitfalls, including potential ethical problems. As always, responses from readers will be welcome: in particular, we are especially interested to hear about the range of experiences of telemedicine that practitioners have already encountered and their opinions about what its proper place in clinical practice should be.