Some speakers at the APA?s 1998 Annual Convention won?t even have left their offices. They will be presenting their talks live via satellite hook-up to demonstrate the latest in telehealth technology, part of a topical series on telehealth developed by Div. 31 (State Psychological Association Affairs) and with the support of divisions 18 (Public Service) and 46 (Media and Technology).

The series will be held on Saturday, Aug. 15, 8 a.m.?4 p.m. in the San Francisco Marriott Hotel, Nob Hill Room C/D and on Sunday, Aug. 16, 9?11 a.m. in the Palace Hotel, Twin Peaks North.

Telehealth, the use of electronic equipment to deliver health services, offers psychologists opportunities for growth in the changing health-care market. The purpose of the series is to educate practitioners and researchers about the opportunities in telehealth and to spark discussion on the limitations and unexplored areas of the emerging field.

The series is arranged progressively. The beginning sessions provide an introduction to telehealth, background information on its beginnings and funding, and insight on how to launch a successful telehealth program. Later sessions will be more in-depth, covering topics such as the legal and ethical aspects of telehealth, licensure and compensation issues, and the need for more telehealth research. Several sessions will provide psychologists with a firsthand look at how tele-health technology works. Three speakers will give presentations via live satellite hook-ups:

? Nancy Cobble, a nurse at St. Peter?s Hospital in Helena, Mont., will link in from St. Peter?s to discuss training issues involved with telehealth.

? Henry Smith, a social worker with Appa-Link, the Southwestern Virginia Telepsychiatry project, will speak about the use of interactive video and will allow the audience to view an interactive video interview between a psychiatrist and a patient.

? Eric Porterfield of the Distance Learning Network, at State College in Pennsylvania, will discuss the advantages of distance learning.

A special telehealth equipment presentation will be held between panels on Saturday, Aug. 15, 1?2 p.m., compliments of Tie Communications and the Distance Learning Network, two of the largest companies in telecommunication equipment. Psychologists who attend will get the opportunity to conduct a live interview with a colleague 'linked up' across the room.

'The goal is to make this real for people, to let them have a hands-on experience and hear directly from people who are successful in setting up and operating telehealth programs across the country, ' says Marlene Maheu, PhD, one of the series? co-chairs.

The final panel of the series will focus entirely on telehealth research:

? Robert Glueckauf, PhD, of Purdue University will discuss his three-year study on the use of videocounseling with teen-agers who have epilepsy and live in rural areas.

? Walter Penk, PhD, chief of psychology service at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Mass., will present research on the use of a telephone system that allows clinicians to track patients? progress as they move from inpatient hospitalization to community-based residential services.

? Robert Pollard, from the University of Rochester Medical Center, will discuss his research on telehealth technology that can provide services to deaf patients who use sign language.

Some of the series? other highlights include a talk on telehealth malpractice issues by Bruce Bennett, PhD, director of APA?s Insurance Trust. Another key speaker is Charles Zaylor, MD, a psychiatrist from the University of Kansas Medical Center and a national speaker on telehealth. Zaylor, who has conducted more than 2,000 videoconferencing consults, will discuss the impact of telepsychiatry on the doctor-patient relationship.

Maheu hopes the series will uncover telehealth issues that need further investigation and spark psychologists? interest in pursuing research in the emerging field.

'Not every psychologist is going to take to this, and not every client will take to it,' says Maheu. 'We need to be able to sort out which patient, at which point in time, will be best served using this technology, with which treatment protocol, delivered by which type of practitioner.'