SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS

Timothy Liesching, Lacey Clinic director of tele-medicine, said the robot allows him to interact and diagnosis a patient at Beverly Hospital from his office in Burlington, Mass., The Boston Globe said Friday.

The doctor said the robot became a necessary long-distance tool in the medical trade because of a shortage of trained staff in certain medical specializations.

"We recognize that the ideal situation is that every patient has the clinician at their bedside, but because of this shortage that there are in a number of subspecialties and in certain geographical areas, that is impossible", Liesching said.

The robot features a computer screen showing the attending doctor's face and allows the long-distance physician to gather vital medical data from patients.

But Dr. Ronald Dixon, a Massachusetts General Hospital internist, has warned against its regular use with seriously ill patients.

"If you're talking about patients who have some risks, the laying of hands and the actual view of the patient in real life is still important", he told the Globe.

 BREAKING STORIES

Coroner: Woman died from poison mushrooms

Chemo gives parrot additional 9 months

Attractive women = men taking more risks

Russia plans to resume space tourism

Turkish captive dolphin site protested

2 charged in oyster, clam poaching case

Supplies moved to Discovery launch pad

Residents prepare for Red River flooding

FBI computer overhaul delayed

Kingfisher sightings down in Britain

Monarchs returning in record low numbers

Scientists create tiny invisibility cloak

Boeing accelerates production push

Mosquito would 'vaccinate' against malaria

Seventeen Indonesia volcanoes on alert

Scientists validate plan to save fish

START talks near completion, officials say

Nutritional training for doctors overdue

Older non-smokers gain most by smoking ban

Disease rates for Asian-Americans differ