Telemedicine is a valuable, but as yet underused, resource for the delivery of health-care to patients. This paper describes the development of a new store-and-forward telemedicine service at the Queen Victoria Hospital, which is a tertiary referral centre for plastic surgery in the United Kingdom. The practical requirements of such a system, and the technical and legal difficulties experienced during the initial stages, are also discussed.

This paper explains how the Photographic Department at The Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, has transformed its clinical photography service through the use of digital technology. The Department now plays a more proactive role in patient care, and its intranet-based digital imaging system has been recognized as an area of best practice by The Department of Health Information Policy Unit and by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.