Telemedicine

Telemedicine is the use of electronic communication and information technologies to provide health care when distance separates the medical professional from the patient. It includes using equipment such as telephones, fax machines or computers and interactive multimedia. Telemedicine transports medical information through telecommunication links, PC’s, imaging equipment and specialized audio and video for the treatment and diagnosis of patients. It has the ability to improve health care over far and distant locations and reduce expenses.

History
Telecommunication has been around for hundreds of years. However the exact time and date of when telecommunication use began in health care is not known. In spite of this, when telephones were invented physicians were amongst the first to adopt them. Einthoven, as well, who was the developer of the electrocardiogram, transmitted heart tracings through telephone lines from a hospital to his laboratory. He stated that he could forese...