subject: Telemedicine, Access To Healthcare Where Little Had Been Available Before [print this page] Telemedicine can be defined as the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications for the health and education of the patient or healthcare provider and for the purpose of improving patient care. Telemedicine includes consultative, diagnostic, and treatment services, where physicians examine distant patients through the use of telecommunications technologies.
Telemedicine (also referred to as "telehealth" or "e-health") allows health care professionals to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients in remote locations using telecommunications technology. Telemedicine allows patients in remote locations to access medical expertise quickly, efficiently and without travel. Telemedicine provides more efficient use of limited expert resources who can "see" patients in multiple locations wherever they are needed without leaving their facility.
In developed and developing countries telemedicine offers a reduced cost solution to delivering remote care when and where it is needed without the building and staffing added facilities. Telemedicine also reduces isolation that clinicians can experience in small medical facilities in distant locations. Telemedicine allows local practitioners to consult with their peers and with clinical experts when needed. Telemedicine further allows them to participate in grand rounds and education opportunities they would not normally have access to without travel and time away from their patients.
Telemedicine has the potential to make a difference in the lives of any Americans. In remote rural areas, where a patient and the closest health professional can be hundreds of miles apart, telemedicine can mean access to health care where little had been available before.
Telemedicine also has the potential to improve the delivery of health care in America by bringing a wider range of services such as radiology, mental health services and dermatology to underserved communities and individuals in both urban and rural areas. In addition, telemedicine can help attract and retain health professionals in rural areas by providing ongoing training and collaboration with other health professionals.
Telemedicine is not a new concept and actually happens without our knowledge in our day to day lives. The exchange of information that happens between two people can actually happen in real time using synchronous and asynchronous technologies. For example, a health professional located in a rural hospital can actually share the information about the patient like blood pressure, X-rays, reports and much more with another professional located in a city hospital. This exchange of information may take place for many reasons.
Most of the medical needs are based on information and the exchange of information. Several technologies have been discovered for this purpose and now they are being integrated in innovative ways.
