Experience with telepathology at a tertiary cancer centre and a rural cancer hospital.

BACKGROUND: Telepathology allows quick and timely access to an expert opinion, no matter where the patient is located. We analysed the experience with the use of telepathology between a tertiary cancer centre and a rural cancer hospital. METHODS: Ninety-three cases were analysed in which static telepathology was used to obtain a consultation between Tata Memorial Centre and Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Hospital at Barshi, a rural area. RESULTS: Successful teleconsultation was achieved in all cases. A diagnosis was offered in 92 cases (98.9%) and was deferred in 1 case (1.1%). Complete concordance, clinically unimportant minor discrepancy and hedged diagnosis were obtained in 83 cases (90.2%). Major discrepancies were encountered in 9 cases (9.7%). The number of images per case ranged from 3 to 27 (average: 7 images). Images were of diagnosable quality in 89.2% of cases. Most of the cases (77.4%) were reported within 3 days; 32.2% were reported within 8 hours (a single working day) and 45.1% within 1-3 days. CONCLUSION: Telemedicine can be effectively used to bridge the gap between medically underprivileged, geographically distant rural areas and advanced centres using the static store and forward methodology.