Video consultation offers the possibility of dealing with medico-legal cases for clients that live in a remote part of the UK, abroad, or for those who struggle to attend appointments. I can offer a remote consultation to your clients if they are appropriate candidates, thereby removing the need for them to visit a physical location. There are 2 sorts of video consultation: one is purely audio and the other audio-visual; audio-visual is clearly preferable. All a client requires is a computer, a webcam and software (such as Skype) which allows synchronous audio-visual communication. An appointment time would be made when I, or one of my team, would call up the client and would undertake the consultation via the audio-visual link. I have extensive experience in managing cases via such a link. I managed several Emergency Departments during my NHS practice in East Kent and would routinely offer advice via a video consultation. Along with my Emergency Consultant colleagues in Nottingham, I have participated in a rota to offer medical advice to personnel on oil rigs in the North Sea. This involved assessing personnel, following a telephone conversation with the resident clinician that might involve looking at pictorial evidence of the case, and giving advice. I have published the following papers on video consultation, which is also known as telemedicine:

• Teleradiology or teleconsultation for emergency nurse practitioners?

S Tachakra, R Freij, S Mullett, A Sivakumar Accident and Emergency Department, Central Middlesex Hospital, London, UK. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 02/1996; 2 Suppl 1:56-8. DOI:10.1258/1357633961929286

• Remote trauma management – setting up a system.

S Tachakra, A Sivakumar, R Everard, S Mullett, R Freij Central Middlesex Hospital, London, UK. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 02/1996; 2 Suppl 1:65-8. DOI:10.1258/1357633961929321

• Confidentiality and ethics in telemedicine.

S Tachakra, S T Mullett, R Freij, A Sivakumar Central Middlesex Hospital, London, UK. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 02/1996; 2 Suppl 1:68-71. DOI:10.1258/1357633961929330