Dreams vs. realities, development of a rural mobile telemedicine program; the Utah experience

The availability of low cost hardware, technology and software have made the implementation of a rural mobile telemedicine program a reality. Initial trials included the use of "Store & Forward" telemedicine software using communication via Internet service; modem to modem dial up; and spread spectrum telecommunications. Phase two trials utilize the H324 protocol, over a plain old telephone service (POTS) based system, employing fixed and transportable tele-conferencing units. Multiple legal, regulatory, and infrastructure barriers will continue to be identified and overcome in order to implement state of the art telemedicine applications in rural Southern Utah.