Virtual slides and instant sharing of medical diagnosis: Emerging telepathology practices at King Fahd Hospital

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have revolutionized the medical diagnosis. The terms of telemedicine, telepathology, teleradiology, tele-ultrasound and tele-surgery are some of the miracles of ICTs. The field of anatomic pathology embraced the technology in real sense in early 80s and then gained the title of telepathology in 1986. Since then the field has been under continuous technological developments and these developments are greatly affecting the performance of pathologists. In this context, following research questions derived the authors to conduct this study: 1) Which technological advancements are taking place in the field of telepathology? 2) Which state of the art technologies are available in the field of telepathology for enhancing the quality and rapid sharing of medical diagnosis? 3) What is the current state of telepathology practices at King Fahd Hospital of University of Dammam (known as KFHU). 4) What are the perceptions of experienced pathologists at KFHU about telepathology practices and its future scope? So, the paper aims at reviewing the technological advancements in the field of telepathology. It also reviews the current practices of telepathology at KFHU and perceptions of the working pathologists about the impact of telepathology practices. The paper is based on qualitative approach, such as literature review, authors' personal experience, and interviews of experienced pathologists at KFHU. The findings of the study can be useful for the working pathologists, medical students and telepathology systems/tools developers.