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ATA's Eleventh Annual International Meeting and Exposition
in San Diego, California on May 7-10, 2006 will be
the world's premier forum for telemedicine. The meeting
will highlight presentations documenting the effects
of telemedicine on the quality, access and efficiency
of healthcare, based on scientific research. Continuing
education credits will be offered through the sponsorship
of the University of South Florida.
Formats of Accepted Presentations
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The organization and format of the 2006 program will include
the following categories:
Poster Presentations - Posters are displayed in a designated
area and will be on display for two days during
the meeting. Presenters will be provided a 6' by
3' area with a small table in front to hold any
handout material. No audio-visual support is provided
for poster presentations. Posters will be judged
at the meeting and recognition will be given to
the top five posters.
Individual Oral Presentations - Accepted presentations
will be placed in a concurrent panel. The presentation
is limited to 12 minutes, excluding questions.
Roundtables - Roundtable discussions provide an opportunity
for presenters to talk with colleagues in an environment
that allows for one-on-one interaction. Multiple
roundtables will be located in a large designated
area. Roundtables are 20 minutes in length with
no more than 10 minutes of presentation time. ATA
may ask that the roundtable presentation be repeated
in one consecutive time slot. No audio-visual support
is allowed for roundtable presentations.
NOTE:
Proposals for a complete panel presentation will
not be accepted for ATA 2006.
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Presentation proposals on any telemedicine topic are accepted.
However, presentations that come under the purview
of one of ATA's Special Interest Groups will be reviewed
by representatives of that group and will receive
special consideration by the program committee. ATA's
SIGs include:
-
Business & Finance
-
Emergency Preparedness & Response
-
Home Telehealth
-
Human Factors
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International
-
Ocular Telehealth
-
Technology
-
Teledermatology
- Telemental
Health
-
Telenursing
-
Telepathology
-
Telerehabilitation
In
addition, representatives from ATA's two chapters
will be involved in reviewing presentation proposals
on abstracts that cover the Pacific Islands or Latin
America and Caribbean regions of the world.
All
presenters will be asked to place their abstract in
one of two categories:
Program
or Project Report - This presentation describes
innovative procedures, financing, administration,
technical clinical or other activities that led
to the successful implementation of a telemedicine
program or project.
Research
Finding - This presentation provides the findings
of a scientific study. These abstracts should include
the hypothesis tested, the method of research and
results with sufficient data to support the conclusions.
Highlighted
Presentations
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Two
types of presentations will be highlighted by ATA
in the final program:
International
- Presentations coming from outside the United States
or presentations about multi-national initiatives
that involve institutions and patients located outside
of the United States.
Completed
Research Papers - Presentations that are based
on a completed and successfully peer-reviewed paper
accepted by a recognized Journal.
Review
Process & Selection Criteria
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All presentation proposals must be submitted using the
online abstract submission
form. Abstracts must be submitted
to ATA no later than September 15, 2005. The ATA
2006 Peer Review Committee is responsible for the review
and selection of all submissions for poster, oral, and
roundtable presentations.
Presentations should provide a clear idea of the objectives
of the presentation, and include factual information
and data showing results. Research or projects that
are only in the proposal stage, have not yet commenced,
or research that will not be complete prior to the ATA
meeting will NOT be selected for participation.
Abstract reviewers will score the abstract according
to the following guidelines:
- Originality:
Topics should focus on cutting-edge information
and be appropriate for today's contemporary practices.
The topic should be innovative and unique. Any evidence
of new ideas, methods, or other contribution? Would
this presentation add to our knowledge in any way?
- Scientific or Technical Merit (for research findings):
All proposal topics should be conclusive and supported
by results/data of the project, study, or initiative.
Your impression regarding the scientific and/or
technical merit of the abstract.
- Clarity of Abstract: Abstracts and descriptions should
be written in a manner that clearly, concisely,
and logically conveys the subject matter's background,
objectives, findings, and conclusions or intent.
Is the abstract well written, are the objectives
clear?
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Relevance to Subject Area: Topics must be
relevant to the activities, initiatives or direction
of telemedicine. Is this topic of interest to the
membership of ATA? Is it relevant to any aspect
of telemedicine development: clinical applications,
technologic developments, health policy, provider
or client acceptance, biomedical or health services
research, etc.?
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Credibility: Does the author demonstrate
a proven track record in his or her field?
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Non-Promotional in Nature: Is this proposal
educational in nature and non-commercial? Proposals
that are written in a manner that promotes a product,
company, or service will not be considered for presentation.
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Abstracts must be no more than 200 words and suitable for publication.
They should provide a synopsis of the essential points
that the presenter wishes to communicate on the subject.
Abstracts should adequately convey what the presenter
is proposing in order that the review committee can
make an informed decision on the relevance of the
proposed topic.
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All
accepted abstracts will be published in Telemedicine
and e-Health Journal as well as available on the
ATA web site. Full papers may be submitted for publication
in the Journal. Instructions
for authors are available in each issue of the
Journal.
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Expenses associated with the preparation, submission, and presentation
of an abstract are the responsibility of the author/presenter.
If accepted, the presenter is required to pay all
fees associated with the meeting, including, but not
limited to, travel, housing accommodations, meeting
registration, etc.
General Guidelines for Submission of Abstracts
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Anyone wishing to submit a presentation abstract for
the Eleventh Annual Meeting must do so online.
Please complete the Call
for Participation Abstract Submission Form online and limit your
abstract to the designated size. For further information and clarification,
please call ATA at 202-223-3333. Submissions received by fax or mail
will not be accepted.
Authors scheduled for slide presentations will have a specified amount
of time to present and discuss the abstract.. Authors scheduled for poster
presentations will be assigned poster space during the poster grand rounds
time and will be expected to display illustrative materials, eg, graphs,
charts, etc. If you are accepted to present a poster and do not show up, or
do not have a co-author present in your place, you may not be invited to attend
next year's meeting.
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Hon S. Pak, MD
Chief, Teledermatology
Brooke Army Medical Center
Fort Sam Houston, TX
Helpful Hints to Avoid Abstract Denial
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Avoid the common pitfalls attributed to abstract denial. Before submitting your proposal,
it is important to review the following list:
- Commercial Tone - proposal appears to overtly promote a
product or service.
- Lack of Scientific Quality and Validity - inappropriate statistical
analysis, scientific method questionable, bias on the part of the presenter/researcher.
- Low Significance and Relevance to Telemedicine
- Poor Quality of Research Methodology
- Topic Not Timely to Current Telemedicine Practice - use of old data,
saturation of topic in the marketplace.
- Topic Too Narrow - topic would not appeal to broad audience.
- Poor Grammar - incorrect sentence structure, punctuation, misspelled
words.
- Poor Composition of Abstract - confusing, difficult to understand or
follow when reviewing.
- Lack of Conclusions and/or Conclusions Do Not Match Objectives -
conclusions are just a repeat of results.
- Lack of Clarity and the Purpose and Objectives of the Study
- Methods Are Not Reproducible - the results are not repeatable in everyday practice.
- Lack of Data or Measurable Outcomes - no results to prove
effectiveness.
- Study/Project in Progress - results are projected, data collection
is ongoing, or has not yet begun, and/or hypothetical since study has not started.
- Incomplete Documentation - biographical sketch not included,
faculty not identified, missing learning objectives.
- Lack of Balance - one-side approach, bias on the part of the
presenter, too narrow in scope.
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