Implementation and evaluation of a telemedicine course for physician assistants.

Clinical telemedicine uses interactive video technologies and telecommunications networks to deliver medical consultations to distant patients and their primary care providers. Telemedicine provides real-time access to specialists whose services might not otherwise be available in rural or medically underserved areas. While recently there has been dramatic growth in the use of telemedicine, there is little evidence that telemedicine as a patient care delivery system has been incorporated into the medical school curriculum. The authors describe the current status of telemedicine in medical curricula and report on efforts at the University of Iowa to incorporate telemedicine into the curriculum of its Physician Assistant Program.