Future Tense for December 26th reports on doctors in Connecticut treating climbers on Mt. Everest. A study by Yale University says recent expeditions to the world's highest mountain prove the reliability of telemedicine. That's when doctors monitor vital signs, diagnose illness, and recommend courses of treatment long distance, through telecommunications. Richard Satava, Yale surgery professor, was part of the telemedicine team for two Everest expeditions, in 1999.