Telemedicine
is the use of
telecommunications
technology for
medical diagnostic,
monitoring, and
therapeutic purposes
when distance
separates the users.
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Telemedicine
is rapidly changing the way medical care is practiced all over the
globe. Back in the mid-90s, Ronald Merrell, of the Yale School
of Medicine, said, The innovations we will encounter as we step beyond
feasibility are dazzling in their potential.
With the convergence of voice, video, and data onto one IP network,
communications between medical care providers has been greatly
enhanced. The increase of knowledge sharing, improved patient
safety and quality of care has only just begun!
Healthcare services using telemedicine describe existing programs in
three distinct categories:
1. Store-and-forward telemedicine systems
2. Clinician-interactive telemedicine services
3. Self-monitoring/testing telemedicine services |
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Store-and-forward
telemedicine systems
Store-and-forward tele-medicine systems collect clinical data, store
them, and then forward them to be interpreted later. These systems have
the ability to capture and store digital still or moving images of
patients, as well as audio and text data.
A store-and-forward system eliminates the need for the patient and the
clinician to be available at the same time and place. Store-and-forward
is an asynchronous, non-interactive form of telemedicine. It is usually
employed as a clinical consultation as opposed to an office or hospital
visit. |
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Clinician-interactive
telemedicine services
Clinician-interactive telemedicine services are real-time
clinician-patient interactions that, in the conventional approach,
require face-to-face encounters between a patient and a physician or
other health care provider. Examples of clinician-interactive services
that might be delivered by telemedicine include online office visits,
consultations, hospital visits, and home visits, as well as a variety
of specialized examinations and procedures.
The most common telemedicine activities are consultations or second
opinions, diagnostic test interpretation, chronic disease management,
post hospitalization or postoperative follow up, emergency room triage,
and "visits" by a specialist.
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Self-monitoring/testing
telemedicine services
Self-monitoring/testing telemedicine services enable physicians and
other health care providers to monitor physiologic measurements, test
results, images, and sounds, usually collected in a patient's residence
or a care facility. Post-acute-care patients, patients with chronic
illnesses, and patients with conditions that limit their mobility often
require close monitoring and follow up.
Telemedicine programs use a variety of strategies to accomplish this
monitoring while reducing the need for face-to-face visits that may be
inconvenient or costly for the patient. The close monitoring afforded
by these approaches may allow better care through earlier detection of
problems, and may therefore reduce costs. |
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