Virtual doctors about to be wheeled in.
Nick Miller from The Age newspaper (May 2, 2008) reports that four hospitals in north-western Victoria, Australia, are about to use "virtual doctors" to help treat emergency and critical-care patients.
The $12 million project comes at a time when specialists are in short supply in the bush, leaving sometimes inexperienced or overworked local doctors trying to cope with life-threatening trauma cases.
In the past, the conservative approach has been to "stabilise and fly them to Melbourne" ... with the new system, "if (the local doctor) gets to the point they feel uncomfortable with their ability to deal with something, they can just click on a button" and a specialist from a major teaching hospital will be on call.
