Xerox telecopier transmission of fetal monitor tracings: a 4-year experience.

A telephone consultation system using the Xerox 400 Telecopier has been established to transmit fetal monitor data to a tertiary center from regional hospitals with limited experience in interpreting this data. This report reviews a 4-year experience with this consultative device, discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of such a program, and recommends the establishment of similar services in other tertiary centers. We believe that the establishment of such services can be of diagnostic and therapeutic benefit to inexperienced medical personnel when first confronted with the concept of fetal monitoring. Hopefully, by so doing, hospital use of fetal monitoring will increase.