A look into the desktop telemedicine crystal ball.

Health care providers are constantly moving, rarely remaining at their desks. They meet and greet, touch and examine, go from room-to-room, walk from building to building. Therefore, telemedicine tethered to a desktop is inherently foreign to the work habits of many clinicians. Rather than requiring a change in practice habits, emerging technology will be better adopted to the work styles of clinicians. Desktop telemedicine will make a difference, but personal telemedicine makes more sense. There is a distinction.