Telemedicine is the remote delivery of healthcare services
using the telecommunication infrastructure. It allows health care professionals
to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients at a distance. It basically aims at giving specialized medical
consultancy from metro cities to semi urban or rural areas where such facilities
are not available.
The practice of telemedicine largely breaks down into three types of solutions:
Store-and-Forward telemedicine
Also called “asynchronous
telemedicine.” Store-and-Forward
Telehealth involves the acquisition and storing of clinical
information (e.g. data, image, sound, video) that is then forwarded to (or
retrieved by) another site for clinical evaluation.
Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a
technology to enable monitoring of patients outside of conventional
clinical settings (e.g. in the home), which may increase access to care and
decrease healthcare delivery costs.
Real-time telemedicine
Interactive services
can provide immediate advice to patients who require medical attention. There
are several different mediums utilized for this purpose, including phone,
online and home visits. A medical history and consultation about presenting
symptoms can be undertaken, followed by assessment similar to those usually
conducted in face-to-face appointments.
Applications of telemedicine include disaster relief, rural health, developing countries, correctional
facilities, school-based health centers, mobile health clinics, shipping and
transportation and industrial health.
Advantages of using
telemedicine, as an alternative to in-person visits, is the reduction of costs
for provider and patient alike. While patients enjoy less time away from work, no travel expenses or time, privacy and no exposure
to other potentially contagious patients, providers enjoy increased revenue, improved office efficiency,
an answer to the competitive threat of retail health clinics, better patient
follow through & improved health outcomes, fewer missed appointments &
cancellations and private payer reimbursement. One of the biggest
opportunities telemedicine presents is increased access to health care.
There are few
limitations as well as challenges though, like training on how to use
telemedicine equipment, patients' fear
and unfamiliarity, financial unavailability, lack of basic amenities and
technical constraints.
Telemedicine will soon
be seen as just another way of providing healthcare facility. Having said that,
striking a smart balance between total dependence on computer solutions and the
use of human intelligence may make all the difference in saving someone's life.
