RGEB News
Introduction to Telemedicine
Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve patients' health status. Closely associated with telemedicine is the term "telehealth," which is often used to encompass a broader definition of remote healthcare that does not always involve clinical services
Telemedicine encompasses different types of programs and services provided for the patient. Each component involves different providers and consumers.
You may have heard the term “Telemedicine” on TV, radio or read about it. It is using technology to assist doctors, medical facilities and patients to better communicate and access care. Based on all of the PR Telemedicine has received over the past few weeks I thought RGEB should provide you with an introduction to Telemedicine.
Telemedicine Services
Specialist referral services typically involves a specialist assisting a general practitioner in rendering a diagnosis. This may involve a patient "seeing" a specialist over a live, remote consult or the transmission of diagnostic images and/or video along with patient data to a specialist for viewing later.
Patient consultations using telecommunications to provide medical data, which may include audio, still or live images, between a patient and a health professional for use in rendering a diagnosis and treatment plan.
Remote patient monitoring uses devices to remotely collect and send data to a monitoring station for interpretation. Such "home telehealth" applications might include a specific vital sign, such as blood glucose or heart ECG or a variety of indicators for homebound patients.
Consumer medical and health information includes the use of the Internet for consumers to obtain specialized health information and on-line discussion groups to provide peer-to-peer support.
Delivery Mechanisms
Primary or specialty care to the home connections involves connecting primary care providers, specialists and home health nurses with patients over single line phone-video systems for interactive clinical consultations.
Home to monitoring center links are used for cardiac, pulmonary or fetal monitoring, home care and related services that provide care to patients in the home. Often normal phone lines are used to communicate directly between the patient and the center although some systems use the Internet.
Web-based e-health patient service sites provide direct consumer outreach and services over the Internet. Under telemedicine, these include those sites that provide direct patient care.
If you have any questions about this topic or any health insurance or benefit questions please give us a call.
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