Are Telepathology Consultation Centers in the Internet a Valid Alternative to get a Second Opinion?

AIMS: Facilitating the communication between pathologists and the exchange of cases, telepathology gains more and more importance. Several institutions offer an telepathological service via Internet. The study presented has to answer the question: Are telepathology consultation centers in the internet a valid alternative to get a second opinion? MATERIAL AND METHODS: We prepared 5 different histological cases in electronic form and sent them to three telepathology consultation centers asking for a second opinion. We put the focus of our test on a the diagnostic accuracy, the turn around time and the conditions of the service including costs, simplicity and contact to the experts. RESULTS: We found a high rate of concordance of the diagnostic findings with the original diagnosis which was consensus of three pathologists. Two of three centers showed a high grade of reliability and quality. We found turn around times between 2,5 hours and 5 days. There are so far no costs. CONCLUSIONS The role of telepathology consultation centers for a second opinion in pathology is increasing. Pathologists are encouraged to use existing free of charge services to get a personal impression.