Essay On Telemedicine

Technology and the health care system are constantly improving every day making patient and health care providers easier to communicate and obtain vital information. One topic that is explained in the following paragraphs is about telemedicine: the date of inception, the history of telemedicine and its milestones, the uses of telemedicine, how it is affecting patient care and the potential areas for fraud and abuse. Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication technology to provide medical information and services. The World Health Organization describes Telemedicine as, “the delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange

“Historically, telemedicine can be traced back to the mid to late 19th century with one of the first published accounts occurring in the early 20th century, when electrocardiograph data were transmitted over telephone wires” (Telemedicine, 2010). The early advancements of space technology aided in the upcoming of telemedicine also. A few decades later, the application of telemedicine was refined as part of disaster response and emergency preparedness during the mid-1980’s and beyond (Bruce, Jackson, & Coker, 2010). Examples of disasters such as earthquakes or bombings make telemedicine more efficient for people who may not be able to access a medical facility at the time and need effective health care

Telemedicine now grows a yearly average of 10 percent. In the past, a major milestone has been the use of television to enable consultation between the patient and the physician. In 1967, a medical station was established at Boston’s Logan International Airport and connected to Massachusetts General Hospital (Allan, 2006); health Care providers provided 24/7 care to patients. About two decades later, in 1989, an earthquake hit the Soviet Union of Armenia (Allan, 2006); the US offered the use of one-way telemedicine between 4 US centers, Armenia and Yerevan. Today, ICT’s (information communication technology) have been the biggest milestone of telemedicine enabling the two users to better communicate with each other (Bajpai,