Development of a teleconsultation system for communication between physiotherapists concerning children with complex movement and postural disorders

We investigated whether a relatively low-cost, PC-based teleconsultation system could be used for inter-institutional communication about children with complex movement and postural disorders. Four paediatric physiotherapists in three different institutions participated. Both email and videoconferencing were tested. Videoconferencing was unsuccessful, as the low-bandwidth analogue lines, used by the majority of the therapists, made the quality of the realtime video-images very poor. However, email with attached video-recordings was successful and the therapists used the system to consult each other about 20 cases. The therapists regarded the system as effective in clinical practice. However, some improvements would be desirable, such as making the system quicker to use and reducing the number of technical errors. Nonetheless, structured communication between physicians about complex postural and movement disorders appears to be promising both for patient referral and for decisions concerning treatment.