2002 Volume 22 Issue 2 Pages 189-196
It is more than 30 years since the first experiment of telemedicine was performed in Japan. Since then, there have been various surveys in regard to technological aspect, but the number of consultations which were carried out in real clinical setting was not known. In this study, a survey was made by questionnaire in the field of tele-radiology, tele-pathology, tele-consultation in ophthalmology and endoscopic surgery. The result showed that the number of cases were still small and the practices of telemedicine were supported by government or local government fund. This means that Japanese telemedicine is not yet regarded as an ordinary medical procedure. It is important to assess the telemedicine again in Japanese medical environment and to form a social consensus how to share the cost of telemedicine among government, medical institutions and patients.
