Kee Hyuck Lee, et al: Implementation of a Videoconferencing System between Multiple Family Medicine Departments SNUBHFM. In contrast, Seoul National University Department of Family Medicine (SNUHFM) holds regular conferences, which are facilitated by many physicians of SNUHFM (6 staff members, 14 fellows, 57 residents). One way of solving the difficulty of holding conferences is to share conferences between multiple family medicine departments using a videoconferencing system.4,5) SNUHFM, SNUBHFM, and KNUHFM pursued this strategy to hold regular joint videoconferences. CASE REPORT 1. Participants and Period of Joint Videocon- ferences Joint videoconferences were conducted from April 1 to October 29, 2010. During that period, 6 professors, 14 fellows and 57 residents from SNUHFM, 3 professors and 1 fellow from SNUBHFM, and 2 professors and 6 residents from KNUHFM participated in joint videoconferences. 2. Joint Videoconferences Departments of family medicine of the three hospitals shared conferences in the mornings using a videoconferencing system. Each hospital took turns to make a PowerPoint presentation at each conference, and the other hospitals watched the presentation via internet in real time. After the presentation, all three hospitals participated in feedback and discussion through the videoconferencing system. Eighty-one joint videoconferences were held during the period. These conferences included 39 clinical review presentations, 16 journal reviews and 26 staff lectures (Table 1). Seventy-nine morning conference presentations were given by SNUHFM, while SNUBHFM held three staff lectures. PowerPoint slideshows were transferred to the other two locations in the same resolution as presenter’s monitor, and the images and voices of the speaker were transmitted in real time in acceptable quality (Figures 1-5). 3. Software and Hardware We used videoconferencing software (V2 conference; V2 Technology, Beijing, China) installed in the Seoul National University College of Medicine. V2 Conference is a web-based 312 | Vol. 32, No. 5 Jul 2011 client-server system that allows up to 300 parties to participate in a video-conference simultaneously (Figure 6). We used highly sensitive microphones (ETM-003; Edutige, Seoul, Korea) and an echocanceler (XING; IPEVO, Taipei, Taiwan) for audio communication and video cameras (VC- 03; Canon, Tokyo, Japan) for video communication. Cameras provided a resolution of 640 × 480, and a maximum of 30 video frames per second. The lowest specifications of the computers used for conferencing were Pentium IV 2.0 CPUs and 512 MB RAM. The operating system used was Microsoft Windows XP. Minimum network speed was 100 kbps. 4. Hardware Setup Two computers, two video cameras, three microphones, and one echocanceler were set up in a SNUHFM conference room, where most of the presentations were held. SNUBHFM set up a portable system that consisted of one laptop, one video camera, one microphone, and one echocanceler because SNUBHFM does not have its own conference room. A desktop computer installed in each conference rooms was used to project the presentation onto a large screen, and audio and video equipments were connected to a laptop to relay images and sounds. Installation of a mobile system could be completed in about five minutes, making participation in videoconferences possible anywhere with an internet connection. KNUHFM participated in videoconferences via a desktop computer. When necessary, members of KNUHFM could communicate with the other locations through a messenger window provided by the V2 Conference software. Individuals who were unable to physically come to the conference rooms could participate in videoconferences on their own laptops at any location with an internet connection. With the presenters’s permission, videoconferences were recorded as video files and uploaded to an internet materials room for later download and replay. DISCUSSION 1. Videoconferences Conferences are an important part of education in family medicine, and most hospitals hold conferences that include Korean J Fam Med