Tele-medicine : from cottage industry to industrial organisation

Drawing on the example of the Télif network, which enables neurosurgeons to make diagnoses at a distance using scanner images, Catherine Viens-Bitker explains the complexities of ‘tele-medicine’. This innovation implies profound change, not only in medical practice and the organisation of health care, but also in the legal structure and economic models. According to Catherine Viens-Bitker, the key to success lies in the existence of a genuine demand and also in the implementation of an economic logic which makes each member of the team commit himself to this new method.