Multimedia medical conferencing: design and experience in the BERMED project

Existing cooperation between physicians can be supported through the introduction of multimedia desktop video conferencing (DTC). Such facilities provide several advantages over conventional video conferencing. In particular, they allow the direct inclusion of all multimedia patient data. The design of DTC can he enhanced through an understanding of the way existing media are used. For this purpose the authors have performed a detailed analysis of the shared workspace activities of physicians, and based on the findings, have designed and successfully implemented a prototype. The paper presents an overview of their analysis, the design of their DTC, and the subsequent experiences with the implementation