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Using Computers for Health Care: Telemedicine Developments

Using Computers for Health Care: Telemedicine Developments. What is telemedicine?. literally “medicine at a distance” integration of computers, telecommunications, information, and medical care using computer technology to improve delivery of health care to rural and underserved populations.

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Using Computers for Health Care: Telemedicine Developments

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  1. Using Computers for Health Care: Telemedicine Developments

  2. What is telemedicine? • literally “medicine at a distance” • integration of computers, telecommunications, information, and medical care • using computer technology to improve delivery of health care to rural and underserved populations

  3. Benefits of telemedicine • better access to health care for the geographically or socially isolated • lower costs for both hospital and patient • fewer referrals to consultants • improved medical education

  4. What makes telemedicine possible? computer technology • digital imaging • videoconferencing • remote monitoring networking and telecommunications • local networks • Interne

  5. Internet technology • created in 1969 at UCLA by US Department of Defense (4 computers) • expanded to include 50 research sites by 1972 • interconnected with other private and public networks during 1970s and 1980s • currently a privately run system

  6. Internet technology World-Wide Web (WWW) • invented by Swiss physicists in 1989 • access improved through development of browsers (Mosaic, Netscape, Internet Explorer) • usefulness improved through development of search engines (Yahoo, Infoseek, Alta Vista) • growing in popularity (53.5 million US adults)

  7. Taking advantage of technology for medical care medical informatics • computerized patient records (history, insurance claim processing) • integrated information management systems • expert systems for advice or warnings • on-line journals and research reports

  8. Taking advantage of technology for medical care telemedicine • accessing or sharing records over distance • teleradiology • videoconferencing • home health monitoring

  9. Is telemedicine feasible? • early projects failed due to poor planning and lack of financial support • new technology has renewed interest • successful programs exist (see Hamit) • Texas • North Carolina • Georgia • Kansas

  10. Non-technical obstacles to telemedicine development • reluctance to adopt new technology • FDA regulation of telemedicine networks as medical devices • interstate licensing and credentials • malpractice and liability (especially telecommunication providers) • reimbursement policies

  11. Technical obstacles to telemedicine development • security and confidentiality concerns • telecommunication regulation and costs • speed of communication (especially in rural areas) • reliability and accessibility of information on WWW

  12. Web sites for exploration • http://www.cs.uwyo.edu/~rex/telelab.html • http://www.wmcnet.org/tele-med/telemed.htm • http://www.fammed.washington.edu/telemed/ • http://zeus.arc.nasa.gov/spacebridge.html • http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html • http://www.nnlm.nlm.nih.gov/netinfo/ • http://www.jem.org

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