Tele-Health Resources and Information

What is tele-health? Use of information & communication technology to deliver health services expertise and information over distance Use of electronic information and communication to deliver medical information and services over large and small distances Provides patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration Meets the needs of underserved areas.

Broadly defined, telemedicine is the transfer of electronic medical data (i.e. high resolution images, sounds, live video, and patient records) from one location to another. This transfer of medical data may utilize a variety of telecommunications technology, including, but not limited to: ordinary telephone lines, ISDN, fractional to full T-1's, ATM, the Internet, intranets, and satellites

Telemedicine is utilized by health providers in a growing number of medical specialties, including, but not limited to: dermatology, oncology, radiology, surgery, cardiology, psychiatry and home health

Trends observed nationally include: using telemedicine in correctional facilities and home health care settings, can significantly reduce the time and costs of patient transportation; fine-tuning the management and allocation of rural health care emergency services by transmitting images to key medical centers for long distance evaluation/triage by appropriate medical specialists;

permitting physicians doing clinical research to be linked together despite geographical separation, sharing patient records and diagnostic images; improving medical education for rural health care professionals, where rotations are made possible by linking several community hospitals together with the sponsoring medical school

Since the mid-1990s, telemedicine programs have become common throughout the world in nearly every specialty and area of healthcare -- radiology, pathology, continuing education, homecare, emergency care, mental health, rehabilitation, cardiac monitoring, and every medical and surgical specialty. Technologies have ranged from high-band with interactive video to low-bandwidth wireless.

In recent years, growth in the use of telemedicine has been facilitated by several important factors: Lower cost and more widely available communications Lower cost, higher performance computers Greater public confidence in the use of computer technology, Greater acceptance of the technology by medical professionals, and Emerging global standards in communications, video conferencing, and medical disciplines

HRSA works to increase the need of understanding people Promotes use of telehealth technology by: – Fostering partnerships – Grant programs – Technical assistance – Develop a telehealth policy – Promoting knowledge exchange