Abstract
Background: Telepathology is a rapidly emerging technique which is being used for the diagnosis of patient's lesions and continuing medical education. The process of telepathology is comprised of digitalization of gross and microscopy pictures of various pathological lesions which are shared via telecommunication media to distant histopathology centers and specialist pathologists for the purpose of seeking consultation from experts in that particular field. In dynamic (real-time) telepathology, the histopathologist evaluates the microscopic glass slides of pathological lesions remotely with a robotic microscope. The application of telepathology would enhance the quality of patient care and reduce the medical costs.
Aim: To evaluate the awareness of Robotic Telepathology among the clinicians.
Methods: A total of 130 structured proformas have been distributed among the willing participant from the Northern Border University - Arar during the period of April 2018 to July 2018. The structured questionnaire based on literature was also translated in Arabic to enhance the understanding of the questions.
Results: A total of 109 completely filled proformas were received from the participants. There were ten questions in the proforma which were aimed to evaluate the knowledge of participant regarding the telepathology for patient care and continued medical education for physicians. The data analysed revealed that a significant number of the participants have less knowledge about the telepathology. There are five questions which reflected the attitude of clinicians towards this new way of communication. The data analysis revealed that the attitude was quite positive for adopting this new adjunct technology for better patient care and contribution in the continued medical education for health care providers.
Conclusion: The awareness of Robotic telepathology is required among the health professionals and it may be included in the curriculum for undergraduate medical students so that they would be aware of it from the earlier years of their training.