Telemedicine The term telemedicine is formally defined as “the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status” (ATA, 2012). In the 1900s, due to the invention of the telephone and various other avenues of communication, telemedicine medicine was introduced to the world. Throughout the years, varying degrees of advances in telemedicine have been acknowledged but telemedicine truly began receiving recognition in the seventies with the introduction of the personal computer (Ferrer-Roca and Sosa-Iudicissa, 2002). While telemedicine is not a new concept, is has begun to receive more and more recognition due to the advances in technology.
As telemedicine
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The biggest implication of telemedicine is that rural patients and hospitals can obtain better access to specialty care services. In turn, this could lead to earlier diagnoses and treatment which can contribute to improved outcomes and less costly treatment. Those individuals, who do not have access to care, are unable to leave their homes, or miss work to see their physicians, would be able to take advantage of telemedicine services.
While Telemedicine is a broad category and can include various tools and indications, the methods in which Telemedicine is communicated between providers and patients has specific methods of application. The most popular methods of utilizing telemedicine are store-and-forward, remote monitoring and interactive services. These methods are explained in more detail below (Center for Connected Health Policy, 2014):
• Store-and-forward telemedicine involves transmitting medical data to a provider or medical specialist through a secure method of communication. Data most often sent through this method of transmission are X-rays, MRIs, photos, pathology reports, patient data, etc. This method of telemedicine more often than not uses an electronic format as the component to transfer patient information between providers.
• Remote monitoring enables medical professionals to monitor a
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how technology has impacted the health care delivery system. Health care technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid rate in the United States, and globally. Patients and providers are witnessing these changes through the use of telehealth, and telemedicine applications. Telehealth, and telemedicine are often used interchangeably, however there is a difference between the two applications. Telehealth is the use of technology to deliver health care, health information, or health education at a distance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).
The benefits of telehealth consultations are immeasurable; clients are able to access a knowledgeable health care professional and receive a telephone triage/assessment and recommendations. This allows the patient to have immediate access to good health advice and quicker solutions. Telemedicine is one of the many vehicles of telehealth; for example, the cardiologist orders an outpatient Holter Monitor trial to evaluate arrhythmias. The technician calls the patient at the sign of any abnormal rhythm and investigate the activity performed when the reading fluctuation then the reported is communicated to the cardiologist. If warranted, the cardiology staff will contact the patient with instructions schedule an immediate appointment. Telehealth services resources would benefit the client in this next example, an individual’s come in for a sick visit expecting a prescription to be written for their illness; they receive informative instructions because of the nature of the
“Telehealth changes the location of care by connecting patients and clinicians virtually, in place of the usual face-to-face contact.” (Darkins 2012).
Telehealth services refers to the exchange of health information and services through telecommunication services in order to support anyone, at any time, in any location. Telehealth systems allows doctors to be in one place and treat patients in rural or urban areas – such as their homes or any another providers premises. The technology behind such concept is particularly helpful for patients with trouble leaving the house, or that live in remote areas from specialists (Narisi, 2013)
Telehealth is the use of electronic information to support long distance clinical health care, patient education, and public health administration. Telehealth involves video conferences, internet, streaming media, and wireless communication to deliver health related services. It encompasses the preventative, promotive, and curative aspects of health care. This system exchanges health related data and other information between the patient and the health care professional to help with the diagnosis and management of conditions. It allows for conferencing between health care professionals and patients in “real time”, remote patient monitoring (such as the blood pressure monitor feeding results through the system), electronic consultation, transmission of medical data, health advice in emergency cases, and long distance patient education. Telehealth is great for monitoring a client in between doctor appointments in order to assess their progression. This benefits the clients because it reduces the need for hospitalizations and visits to the emergency room, while improving their quality of life.
was the use of telemedicine in order to reach patients who do not have access to
In this context telemedicine and technological capability can respond to two major strands: the first is a simplification to ensure that with available technologies, all actors of a clinical path from taking care to resign, share real-time Useful information for themselves and for other professionals in order to identify and follow the best path. The second strand is the provision on the territory of technological capacities that are very developed in a hospital environment but whose deployment is quite circumscribed.
The delivery of health care has always been influenced by technological developments and innovations. This is particularly true in modern health care professionals where they are obsessed with technology and rush to apply them. One of the most recent applications of ICT – Information and computer technology- is telehealth. Telehealth is the use of communication, diagnostic and information technology to provide health care when patients and providers are geographically separated [2], Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store -and-forward imaging, streaming media, terrestrial and wireless communications. Telehealth could be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone or as
In this paper we will discuss an innovation that has been developed in the last 20 years that has influenced the health care industry. That innovation is telemedicine.
Telemedicine is a vast subject, but as yet there are limited data on the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of most telemedicine applications. As a result, objective information about the benefits and drawbacks of telemedicine is limited. This write up is therefore based mainly on my review opinion referencing the case: “a Telemedicine opportunity of distraction? “of Harvard business. Many potential opportunities of telemedicine including, but not limited to: improved access to information; provision of care not previously deliverable; improved access to services and increasing care delivery; improved professional education; quality control of screening programs; and reduced health-care costs. Although telemedicine clearly has a wide range of potential benefits, it also has some disadvantages. The main ones that can be envisaged are: a breakdown in the relationship between health professional and patient; a breakdown in the relationship between health professionals; issues concerning the quality of health information; and organizational and bureaucratic difficulties. On balance, the benefits of telemedicine are substantial, assuming that more research will reduce or
In today’s time, the Internet is really altering the way us Americans intermingle with the healthcare system. The Internet is making consumers more desirable to use it, in hopes for more opportunities. With the help from the Internet, telemedicine is becoming one of the best cultivating advanced technology in healthcare right now. Telemedicine can be defined as the use of medical information that is exchanged from one site to another (americantelemed, 2012). This process utilizes technology and digital communication in order to help patients’ progress. Important aspects of telecommunication include video, email, mobile devices, and more. So, in a nutshell telemedicine allows patients to communicate with their assigned physician about any
In the United States, a renewed interest occurred in telehealth in the 1990s according to McGonigle and Mastrian because of escalating costs, the need for greater access for all
Telemedicine is similar to Telehealth. Telehealth refers to a broader scope of remote healthcare service but Telemedicine refers specifically to remote clinical services. Telehealth can also refer to remote non-clinical services. For example provider training and meetings (link 3). In the past the network is not as fast as now, thus telemedicine is only use in clinical services. Now, due to the development of network, more information can be transferred in a shorter period, thus Telemedicine can be to provide other non-clinical services. The word “Telehealth” refers to both clinical and non-clinical services.
There are several forms of technology that is used to monitor, assist patients with self-care management, assist physicians with delivering care to their patients, including consultation with specialist, and overcoming barriers with transportation. “60% of the healthcare executives, physicians, and nurses in this inaugural survey said that telemedicine was a high priority for 2015“ (Vockley, 2015, para. 7) Telemedicine
Telemedicine is the use telecommunications and information technology to provide healthcare to patients located in the remote or distant locations. For example: people staying in the mountainous areas or islands can get medical services right at their home with the help of smart devices or patients who cannot go to the hospital for some reason.