title: Telemedicine in the service of peace.
abstract: Ophthalmology is well suited to telemedicine, since optical and imaging devices provide the basis for virtually all ophthalmic patient evaluations. We established the Middle East Ophthalmology Network among ophthalmologists working in 10 major ophthalmology centres in Israel, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia. The project offered some 50 physicians around the Middle East the opportunity to benefit from sharing clinical consultation for diagnosis and management decisions beyond physical and political boundaries. In the first year, over 100 consultations took place. The system overcame some of the constraints imposed by the uneven distribution of medical resources and expertise in the region, reduced professional isolation, encouraged more collaboration between physicians and offered peace dividends from cooperation between physicians across the political divide.
authors.affiliation: Peres Center For Peace, Israel. shanit@peres-center.org
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shanit
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Striebel
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michelson
authors.forename: Saida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ayed
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Assi
authors.forename: Nadav
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Belfair
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ben-Simon
authors.forename: Fafani
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hamida
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kanawati
authors.forename: Tova
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lifshitz
authors.forename: Ghassan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Madia
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rafi
authors.forename: Atef
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tahat
authors.forename: Giora
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Treister
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tucktuck
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zaghloul
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D020407:Internet; D008877:Middle East; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000379:methods*; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000379:methods*