Progress toward development of a full-service, telepathology based laboratory

Pathologists are entering the era of telemedicine in which video images generated at one remote site can be transmitted to another site for on-line diagnosis. The availability of dynamic-robotic telepathology now permits the pathologist, located at a hub laboratory, to render real-time diagnoses in the absence of an on-site pathologist. However, with the advent of dynamic-robotic telepathology comes the challenge to the pathologist of overseeing activities in the remote site laboratory. In our view, another important challenge is to develop good personal relationships that foster mutual confidence between remote-site clinicians and hub-site pathologists. We believe the Iron Mountain-Milwaukee-Hines connection will serve as a useful model for the development of a variety of important telepathology functions.