In house or by proxy: The telemedicine credentialing predicament persists

The latest addition to St. Jude Medical Center's psychiatry department isn't your run-of-the-mill medical staff recruit. Standing four feet tall atop a pair of razor-thin wheels, VGo is a remote-controlled telemedicine robot that has played the middleman between patients in the Fullerton, California facility and a community-based psychiatrist since the spring. Mounted to the head of VGo's Q-tip?shaped frame are a six-inch monitor and full-range camera that enable two-way audio and video. By downloading the associated computer app, practitioners can maneuver the robot from afar to gain all-angles views of a patient and his or her environment.

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