Clinical call centres: does low-bandwidth video have a place?

Low-bandwidth video has a place in health service delivery. Videoconferencing systems commonly used in telehealth have a high capital cost, take days or weeks to install at specific locations, and have high communications charges. A range of circumstances can be envisaged where video may be of benefit but would not justify the cost of large systems. There are projects in community nursing, home dialysis and post-acute respiratory care where various low-bandwidth video technologies have been added as a supplement to the humble telephone call. It can be expected that at least some of these projects will be able to demonstrate tangible improvements in health outcomes, such as decreased readmission rates, reduced acute episodes of a chronic illness and improved health status from the additional social support.