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Healthcare
Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration. Technologies used in telehealth typically are: videoconferencing, the Internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.
Telemedicine reduces the high cost of health care. Allowing patients to be provided with teleconsultation and treatment can reveal a significant cost savings in expenses towards travel, stay, and treatment to an individual household.
Telemedicine allows a patient and primary physician in rural areas to consult real time with a specialist through two-way video and audio communication. It enables a physician to conduct a clinical examination of a patient across great distances and deliver their expertise where and when needed, regardless of geography.
One such example involves a family physician whose patient had a cervical spine fracture. Unsure whether the patient needed air ambulance transport to the nearest medical facility, the primary provider was able to consult with a neurosurgeon off site. They reviewed the patient’s x-rays and CAT scan, and jointly determined that while the patient did need prompt referral he did not need to be transported by air ambulance, saving cost and time away from work and family.