The project will provide secure and manageable Internet access to rural clinics and small hospitals participating in the Arizona Telemedicine Program. This access will allow health care professionals in remote, underserved sites to have access to: 1) Arizona Health Sciences Library (AHSL) and Arizona Health Information Network (AZHIN)on-line information resources (including MedLine), 2) Arizona Health Sciences Center (AHSC) e-mail/Internet server accounts, 3) National Library of Medicine on-line information resources, and 4) World Wide Web health and medicine resources. The project will facilitate the development of """"""""telegroup practice"""""""" among physicians in differing remote communities and specialists at the Arizona Health Sciences Center by providing tools such as E-mail, file transfer and on-line information resources along with training necessary to properly utilize these tools. This connectivity will also give these physicians access to the full virtual community of physicians who have access to the Internet. The project will facilitate the education of University of Arizona College of Medicine students doing rotations at rural clinics and small hospitals affiliated with the Arizona Telemedicine Program by ensuring that they remain """"""""connected"""""""" while they are serving in isolated rural areas. This proposal will build on and complement existing successful programs undertaken at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center to accomplish goals which would not be otherwise feasible. The objectives will be met by building on the communications infrastructure established by the Arizona Telemedicine Progra, as well as the experience and information resources established by the Arizona Health Information Network.
