Developing standards of care: a tale of two panels.
OBJECTIVE
How will a group of experts convened to develop standards of care communicate in meaningfully different ways when interacting online in contrast to traditional face-to-face meetings. Furthermore, does online interaction facilitate discussion among participants from diverse cultural backgrounds and at what cost?


METHODS
A project to develop standards of care for deaf and hard of hearing adults used two panels of experts operating in two different formats: online and face-to-face. One panel interacted via an online system while the other met in a day-long face-to-face conference. As one component of the project, we tracked the interactions of these two groups in order to describe and contrast their group processes.


METHODS
The subjects were volunteer experts in hearing impairment and health care, from organizations across the United States. They were a geographically diverse group with widely varying communication needs. We applied two different systems for facilitating communication among culturally diverse participants, and assessed interaction and satisfaction.


METHODS
Data were collected on the two groups on the pattern of interactions, satisfaction with the process, and satisfaction with outcomes.


RESULTS
The results showed a high level of user satisfaction with both process and outcomes, and provide data for a description of the source of user satisfaction and the management of the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Online interaction offers unique advantages but poses unique management requirements for success.
Boan
David M
DM
Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, Easton, MD 21601, USA. dboan@dfmc.org
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D003201:Computers; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D003638:Deafness; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000145:classification / Q000592:standards*; D005104:Expert Testimony; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged