Use of the new media for medical education.

The use of an advanced communication network for education has been an integral part of practice at the Mayo Clinic since 1986. The network has been used for patient care, research coordination and administrative support, as well as for educational programming. In 1994, 2655 hours were broadcast by satellite. There were 42,292 participants, representing a total of 47,364 contact hours. Over half of this activity was educational. In using the satellite system, a number of background support systems have been found to be essential to effective communication. First, highly trained technical staff are required to support the communication system. Second, presenters require formal training in adapting audiovisual materials, such as slides and transparencies, to broadcast media. Third, as use of the system has grown, scheduling and prioritizing among the many users has become an increasingly time-consuming and challenging task.