What is Telemedicine?

Telemedicine (telecommunications plus medicine) is not a new form of medical treatment. Rather, it is a medium that helps deliver and manage medical care and prevention by taking advantage of information and telecommunications technology.

As described by Dr. Doug Perednia, President of the Association of Telehealth Service Providers, "The defining aspect of telemedicine is the use of electronic signals to transfer information from one site to another." The primary impetus for the development of telemedicine has been the desire to extend health care to geographically underserved populations.

Other applications included in the broad definition of telemedicine are continuing medical education as part of telemedicine systems. The browsing and extraction of healthcare data from scattered databases and electronic medical records, medical video teleconferencing, voice recognition systems for medical report management, integrated electronic claims processing and inventory control.

As it stands today, telemedicine has proven to be valuable in support of the delivery of teleradiology, telepathology, general medical diagnosis, remote consultations, triage decision-making, and emergency evaluations. It has also been used as an effective support for pre-transfer or admission coordination, follow-up medical care and post-operative appointments, and medication checks. IME's current and future proposals seek to leverage telemedicine significantly, to promote public health in underserved regions, with a strong emphasis on prevention.