The promise of telemedicine
We have developed an extraordinary capability to capture and transmit digital ocular
imaging, enabling remote interpretation of every aspect of the eye. The issues regarding
telemedicine were primarily technical and procedural when this journal first reviewed
the topic in 1999. Fourteen years later, telemedicine presents strikingly different
challengesdlegal, ethical, and professional. Some “tele-ophthalmology” applications have
now become a reliable part of daily practice. Although it offers improved health care at
lower cost to more people, telemedicine could also radically transform the traditional
doctorepatient interaction.