The Application and Prospect of
Telemedicine
Abstract —The increasing diffusion of Computer Technology and Telecommunications has made the Telemedicine approach. Telemedicine can provide medical information and services at a distance, which is a fundamental tool to harmonise quality and cost in the Health System. Telemedicine has wide range of applications. In this study, four applications of telemedicine are discussed. They are Teleconsultation, Telemedicine education, Telemonitoring and Health Information Management. At last, the development prospects of telimedicine are also described.
Keywords —Telemedicine, Computer Technology, Tteleconsulation, Telecommunications.
I. INTRODUCTION
T
elemedicine has many definitions and can be viewed as providing medicine from a distance. It should provide patients and practitioners located at remote sites the possibility to access primary or specialty care thereby increasing the quality of care while minimizing costs. Telemedicine takes advantage of the tremendous growth in the telecommunications industry[1].
Today with wireless technology, patient records could be accessed by health-care professionals from any given location by connection to the institution’s information system[2]. Physicians’access to patient history , laboratory results, pharmaceutical data, insurance information, and medical resources would be enhanced by mobile technology, thereby improving the quality of patient care.
Telemedicine is an emerging field that could have a revolutionary impact on health management, bringing the man and his needs in the core of technological progress. The main goal of telemedicine approach, namely to improve access to high quality medical care at affordable cost, can be pursued by means of an effective integration of Hospital and Home Care; also inside Hospital telemedicine technologies play an important rule for medical information exchange among different departments and medical personnel[3].
The popular application and development of the telecommunication networks are telemedicine and teleconsultation. Health experts can solve problems by using the electronic and communication technologies without distance limitation. Telemedicine can provide a cost-saving healthcare mode and can be applied in clinics by using electronic information and communication technologies. The telemedicine is an effective way for
distant consultation and for discussion conference [4,5]. Telemedicine can not only improve the accessibility and the quality of healthcare delivery but also lower costs.
II. APPLICA TIONS
A ．Teleconsultation
Teleconsultation is a means of telecommunication through networks; it is one of the most important applications in telemedicine. Real-time consultations use the video conferencing technology and permit the interaction between medical experts and clients. During consultation, both sites need to communicate with each other and synchronously manipulate images and documents [6].
Patients and their primary care physicians can seek the opinions of experienced specialists thousands of miles away from the comfort of their home. Teleconsultation technology offers a myriad of benefits, ultimately making the provision of quality healthcare more efficient and much more economical. B ．Telemedicine education
Telemedicine education is a rapidly developing application of telemedicine. For example, The students have the possibility to use modern equipment in a Telemedicine Laboratory for image and sound digitisation and to prepare clinical cases in electronic form. Also they can explore Internet resources to search for medical information on the Net. At the end of this course students discuss their prepared medical cases and diagnoses with teachers and medical consultants. So the students can learn more during the class. C ．Telemonitoring
Telemonitoring allows the evaluation of patients’ vital signs once or more per day and provide diagnostic information that can be transmitted to health professionals. It has the potential to involve patients more in their own care,assist the titration of medications,improve compliance,and help provides identify early signs of worsening heart failure and its precipitating factors. Home telemonitoring also may assist with care at home or early discharge planning, thereby reducing admissions, hospital days, and rates of mortality[7].
D ．Health Information Management
Health information management (HIM) is the practice of acquiring, analyzing and protecting digital and traditional medical information vital to providing quality
patient care. The tools of health informatics and health information technology are being increasingly utilized to introduce efficiency in information management practice in the health care sector. Both hospital information systems and health human resources information systems (HRHIS)are common implementations of HIM.
III . PROSPECTS
Because telemedicine has only developed in china for a few yeas, So it still has some problems, Such as Telecommunication constraints, Limited specialist resource, Policies and regulations are incomplete and the awareness of patients and doctors needs improved. But the prospect of telemedicine is Optimism, the telemedicine has developed rapidly these years, is content has also changed much with the application of advanced communication technologies and Internet technologies in the health fields.With more and more Cooperation with foreign enterprises, Telemedicine is more advanced which can also promote the development of other technologies.
IV . CONCLUSIONS
Telemedicine is a rapidly developing application of clinical medicine where medical information is transferred through the phone or the Internet and sometimes other networks for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations. In this study, we presented four main applications of telemedicine. Today with wireless technology, telemedicine has more and more applications, which will promote the development of medicine.
R EFERENCES
[1] Tohme, W.G.; Hayes, W.S.; Mun, S.K.; Komo, D.; Meissner,
M.C., "Designing a telemedicine platform for three different medical applications," Image Management and Communications, vol., no., pp.86,90, 20-24 Aug 1995
[2] Istepanian, R.S.H.; Jovanov, E.; Zhang, Y.T., "Guest Editorial
Introduction to the Special Section on M-Health: Beyond Seamless Mobility and Global Wireless Health-Care Connectivity," Information Technology in Biomedicine, IEEE Transactions on , vol.8, no.4, pp.405,414, Dec. 2004
[3] Belardinelli, A.; Franchi, D.; Bedini, R.; Ripoli, A.; Palagi, G.,
"Ward Informative System: hospital application of telemedicine," Computers in Cardiology, 1999 , vol., no., pp.413,416, 1999
[4] W. Xiaomin, Z. Weidong, and W. Yulin, ―The development and
application of a provincial telemedicine center‖, in proc. of the 2nd Joint EMBS/BMES Conf., Houston, TX, pp. 1843-1844.
[5] Tzyh-Chyang Chang; Jiann-Der Lee; Shwu-Jiuan Wu;
Chun-Hua Shih; Ming-Jen Yang, "The Development and Application of the Telemedicine System in Psychiatric Counseling," Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2005. IEEE-EMBS 2005. 27th Annual International Conference of the , vol., no., pp.2196,2198, 17-18 Jan. 2006
[6] Chang, T.C.; Lee, J.-D.; Wu, S.J., "The Telemedicine and
Teleconsultation System Application in Clinical Medicine," Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2004. IEMBS '04. 26th Annual International Conference of the IEEE , vol.2, no., pp.3392,3395, 1-5 Sept. 2004
[7] E. Jovanov, A. Lords, D. Raskovic, P. Cox, R. Adhami, and F.
An drasik, ―Stress monitoring using a distributed wireless intelligent sensor system,‖ IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Mag., vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 49–55, May/June 2003.
The Application and Prospect of
Telemedicine
Abstract —The increasing diffusion of Computer Technology and Telecommunications has made the Telemedicine approach. Telemedicine can provide medical information and services at a distance, which is a fundamental tool to harmonise quality and cost in the Health System. Telemedicine has wide range of applications. In this study, four applications of telemedicine are discussed. They are Teleconsultation, Telemedicine education, Telemonitoring and Health Information Management. At last, the development prospects of telimedicine are also described.
Keywords —Telemedicine, Computer Technology, Tteleconsulation, Telecommunications.
I. INTRODUCTION
T
elemedicine has many definitions and can be viewed as providing medicine from a distance. It should provide patients and practitioners located at remote sites the possibility to access primary or specialty care thereby increasing the quality of care while minimizing costs. Telemedicine takes advantage of the tremendous growth in the telecommunications industry[1].
Today with wireless technology, patient records could be accessed by health-care professionals from any given location by connection to the institution’s information system[2]. Physicians’access to patient history , laboratory results, pharmaceutical data, insurance information, and medical resources would be enhanced by mobile technology, thereby improving the quality of patient care.
Telemedicine is an emerging field that could have a revolutionary impact on health management, bringing the man and his needs in the core of technological progress. The main goal of telemedicine approach, namely to improve access to high quality medical care at affordable cost, can be pursued by means of an effective integration of Hospital and Home Care; also inside Hospital telemedicine technologies play an important rule for medical information exchange among different departments and medical personnel[3].
The popular application and development of the telecommunication networks are telemedicine and teleconsultation. Health experts can solve problems by using the electronic and communication technologies without distance limitation. Telemedicine can provide a cost-saving healthcare mode and can be applied in clinics by using electronic information and communication technologies. The telemedicine is an effective way for
distant consultation and for discussion conference [4,5]. Telemedicine can not only improve the accessibility and the quality of healthcare delivery but also lower costs.
II. APPLICA TIONS
A ．Teleconsultation
Teleconsultation is a means of telecommunication through networks; it is one of the most important applications in telemedicine. Real-time consultations use the video conferencing technology and permit the interaction between medical experts and clients. During consultation, both sites need to communicate with each other and synchronously manipulate images and documents [6].
Patients and their primary care physicians can seek the opinions of experienced specialists thousands of miles away from the comfort of their home. Teleconsultation technology offers a myriad of benefits, ultimately making the provision of quality healthcare more efficient and much more economical. B ．Telemedicine education
Telemedicine education is a rapidly developing application of telemedicine. For example, The students have the possibility to use modern equipment in a Telemedicine Laboratory for image and sound digitisation and to prepare clinical cases in electronic form. Also they can explore Internet resources to search for medical information on the Net. At the end of this course students discuss their prepared medical cases and diagnoses with teachers and medical consultants. So the students can learn more during the class. C ．Telemonitoring
Telemonitoring allows the evaluation of patients’ vital signs once or more per day and provide diagnostic information that can be transmitted to health professionals. It has the potential to involve patients more in their own care,assist the titration of medications,improve compliance,and help provides identify early signs of worsening heart failure and its precipitating factors. Home telemonitoring also may assist with care at home or early discharge planning, thereby reducing admissions, hospital days, and rates of mortality[7].
D ．Health Information Management
Health information management (HIM) is the practice of acquiring, analyzing and protecting digital and traditional medical information vital to providing quality
patient care. The tools of health informatics and health information technology are being increasingly utilized to introduce efficiency in information management practice in the health care sector. Both hospital information systems and health human resources information systems (HRHIS)are common implementations of HIM.
III . PROSPECTS
Because telemedicine has only developed in china for a few yeas, So it still has some problems, Such as Telecommunication constraints, Limited specialist resource, Policies and regulations are incomplete and the awareness of patients and doctors needs improved. But the prospect of telemedicine is Optimism, the telemedicine has developed rapidly these years, is content has also changed much with the application of advanced communication technologies and Internet technologies in the health fields.With more and more Cooperation with foreign enterprises, Telemedicine is more advanced which can also promote the development of other technologies.
IV . CONCLUSIONS
Telemedicine is a rapidly developing application of clinical medicine where medical information is transferred through the phone or the Internet and sometimes other networks for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations. In this study, we presented four main applications of telemedicine. Today with wireless technology, telemedicine has more and more applications, which will promote the development of medicine.
R EFERENCES
[1] Tohme, W.G.; Hayes, W.S.; Mun, S.K.; Komo, D.; Meissner,
M.C., "Designing a telemedicine platform for three different medical applications," Image Management and Communications, vol., no., pp.86,90, 20-24 Aug 1995
[2] Istepanian, R.S.H.; Jovanov, E.; Zhang, Y.T., "Guest Editorial
Introduction to the Special Section on M-Health: Beyond Seamless Mobility and Global Wireless Health-Care Connectivity," Information Technology in Biomedicine, IEEE Transactions on , vol.8, no.4, pp.405,414, Dec. 2004
[3] Belardinelli, A.; Franchi, D.; Bedini, R.; Ripoli, A.; Palagi, G.,
"Ward Informative System: hospital application of telemedicine," Computers in Cardiology, 1999 , vol., no., pp.413,416, 1999
[4] W. Xiaomin, Z. Weidong, and W. Yulin, ―The development and
application of a provincial telemedicine center‖, in proc. of the 2nd Joint EMBS/BMES Conf., Houston, TX, pp. 1843-1844.
[5] Tzyh-Chyang Chang; Jiann-Der Lee; Shwu-Jiuan Wu;
Chun-Hua Shih; Ming-Jen Yang, "The Development and Application of the Telemedicine System in Psychiatric Counseling," Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2005. IEEE-EMBS 2005. 27th Annual International Conference of the , vol., no., pp.2196,2198, 17-18 Jan. 2006
[6] Chang, T.C.; Lee, J.-D.; Wu, S.J., "The Telemedicine and
Teleconsultation System Application in Clinical Medicine," Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2004. IEMBS '04. 26th Annual International Conference of the IEEE , vol.2, no., pp.3392,3395, 1-5 Sept. 2004
[7] E. Jovanov, A. Lords, D. Raskovic, P. Cox, R. Adhami, and F.
An drasik, ―Stress monitoring using a distributed wireless intelligent sensor system,‖ IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Mag., vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 49–55, May/June 2003.