Essay On Telemedicine

In the 1970’s the word telemedicine was coined “healing at a distance”, suggesting the use of ICT to improve patient outcomes by increasing access to care and medical information. The World Health Organization (2010), has defined telecommunication as “The delivery of health care services, where distance is a crucial factor, by all health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and form the continuing education of health care providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.”

The use telemedicine, it makes it easier for primary health care doctors to consult with specialists on a patient’s case no matter their location. For example, small hospitals that are lacking adequate radiology specialist on-staff can outsource evaluation of x-rays via telemedicine.

Through the use of telemedicine, it is

The research conducted to date has dealt largely with very focused questions (e.g., the accuracy of auscultation), and has been characterized by small samples and methodologic weaknesses. Research conducted by Grigsby et al, 1995 stated that appears that many telemedicine applications may be effective means of providing health services, whereas Houtchens et al, 1993 stated that telemedicine may certainly affect patient management but at this present moment it is difficult to assess telemedicine in relation to conventional medical care. Although one should not expect telemedicine to be validated more thoroughly than has been the case for ordinary health services, and it should not be necessary to evaluate all of the telemedicine it is important to understand how the two modes of delivery compare (Grigsby et al.,