Telemedicine,
also referred to as mobile
health (m-Health) or e-health, allows health care professionals to
evaluate, diagnose and treat patients in remote locations using standard
telecommunications technology. Telemedicine (e-Health or m-Health) allows
patients in remote locations to access medical expertise quickly, efficiently
and without having to travel.
Telemedicine provides more efficient use of limited
expert resources and medical specialists who can remotely see patients in
multiple locations, wherever they are needed, without leaving their facility.
In industrial and developing countries, telemedicine offers a reduced cost
solution to delivering remote care when and where it is needed without the
building and staffing added facilities.
Telemedicine
also reduces isolation that clinicians can experience in small medical
facilities in distant locations. Telemedicine allows local practitioners to
consult with their peers and with clinical experts when needed. Telemedicine
further allows them to participate in grand rounds and education opportunities
they would not normally have access to without travel and time away from their
patients.
Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health is expected to improve the quality, cost-efficiency, and access of healthcare to all people everywhere by:
Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health is expected to improve the quality, cost-efficiency, and access of healthcare to all people everywhere by:
- Supporting the
delivery of care tailored to individual patients
- Improving transparency
and accountability of care processes and facilitating shared care across
boundaries
- Aiding evidence-based
practice and error reduction
- Improving diagnostic
accuracy and treatment appropriateness
- Improving access to
effective healthcare by reducing barriers created, for example, by
physical location or disability
- Facilitating patient
empowerment for self-care and health decision making
- Improving
cost-efficiency by streamlining processes, reducing waiting times and
waste.
Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health allows rapid deployment of
healthcare to a developing population though relatively low cost clinics.
Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health allows
prison facilities to deliver high quality care without the cost and dangers of
inmate transportation or the need for clinical specialist to enter the
facility. Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health
substantially improves access to care while substantially reducing costs.
Telemedicine has proven effective for clinical as well as mental health.
Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health provides
support to the school nurse and allows her or his access to expert medical
opinion on when it is needed. Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health allows
mobile health units access to specialist expertise regardless of where either
the mobile health unit or the specialist is located. Mobile health units can
serve the community, send challenging cases or second opinion requests to a
remote specialist for x-ray reads, diagnosis support, treatment advice, etc. to
assure the local patient receives appropriate care.
The benefits for Disaster Relief are similar
to rural health and mobile health. Telemedicine/e-Health/m-Health
allows healthcare delivery capability to move in quickly after a disaster. This
allows the on-sight providers rapid access to advanced expertise and
capabilities for triage and care electronically when and where it is most
needed.
The mobile health services being used today have several diverse
aspects. These include the possibility for almost two way information exchange
and real-time communication. In addition, the access capabilities in m-health
can effectively cross the distance barrier between the doctor and patient. The
other aspect is the expansion of the health sector to involve private and
public sector which allows new roles to appear and even nontraditional sectors
like mobile network operators to get involved in an innovative way to promote
and develop new ways of providing health care.
Telemedicine has become standard medical practice
and is in daily use across dozens of countries. As a result, specialized
telemedicine, e-Health and m-Health equipment and systems have been developed,
and MedWOW has kept up with the latest technologies.