Telemedicine is an application
and technology, which enables the transfer or exchange
of medical information from one specialist center (clinic/
hospitals) to another over a distant place. It helps
the patients in providing early advice at a cost that
is far below those of hospital visits thereby cutting
the cost of hospitalization.
Telemedicine is now making it simple
for Doctors to consult a medical case over Video Conference
through V-Sat or ISDN lines by exchanging the diagnostic
quality medical data which can contain X-Ray, MRimaging,CT
Scan, Ultra Sound, Pathology Slides, ECG (12 lead),
Live Presentations and conducting CME’s (Continuing
Medical Education).
It also covers any form of communication
between Doctors and patients through electronic equipment
from remote locations. Examples include distant diagnostics,
where on-the spot health equipment monitors patient’s
data and the same is transmitted to a specialist located
at any distant site; identifying disease vectors through
space-based remote sensing; and even remote surgery,
where a distant surgeon directs local staff, or the
patient, to perform a medical procedure.
The main purpose of Telemedicine is
to enable health care providers and professionals to
offer their medical expertise’s to patients or
together with other health provider experts (using telecommunication
systems to exchange video, audio or medically acquired
images) to facilitate remote or local health care delivery
to patients. This is done with the use of a networked
environment in hospitals, clinics or remote operation
theatres etc. An excellent application in the Indian
scenario would be the use of communication satellites
to broadcast community health and family planning information;
Telemedicine definition has been stated
by different healthcare professionals from their different
thoughts.
Telemedicine may be on the upswing
for several years now, but the truth is that it has
been in use in some form or other for over thirty years.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration played
an important role in the early development of Telemedicine.
Many of the initial Telemedicine endeavors had to do
with the transfer of images over microwave and audio
transmissions. Astronauts in space were monitored both
from the spacecraft and the space suits during the missions.
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