Telemedicine involves the use of electronic communication and information technologies to provide clinical health care at a distance. It allows health care professionals to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients remotely by transmitting medical information such as images, live videos and data. Telemedicine provides benefits such as improved access to care, lower costs, and better education of professionals and patients. However, it also presents some risks if private medical information is hacked or if it replaces in-person relationships between providers and patients.

1. By Carolyn Paduano RN, BSN
Nursing 509

2. What is Telemedicine?
 “Telemedicine is the use of medical
information exchanged from one site to
another via electronic communications to
improve a patient’s clinical health status.
Telemedicine includes a growing variety of
applications and services using two-way
video, email, smart phones, wireless tools and
other forms of telecommunications
technology.”
American Telemedicine Association (2012)

3. Benefits
 Allows for better access to health care and services
 Helps improve professional education
 Reduces health care costs
 Improves patient care

4. How Does it Work?
Allows for the technological exchange of medical information
between health care professionals and patients from a distance

5. What it Does
 Permits health care professionals to get more involved with care
even when they are not presently with the patient
 Empowers patients and allows them to have some control over
health care decisions and treatment plans
 Make decisions in a timely manner when critical situations arise
 Improves access between various health professionals and
promotes interdisciplinary team work
 Helps reduce medical cost by allowing for better quality of care
which will result in fewer hospital admissions.

6. What Are the Negatives?
 People relying too much on technology
 Individuals forget how to interact with each
other
 Information can be breached causing violation
of patients’ private information.
 Lack of patient-nurse or patient-doctor
relationship
 Causes health professionals to feel “burnt out”
by being available 24/7 to patients

7. Examples
 Helps students in the healthcare field learn
 Helps other health care professionals learn
from various locations

8. Examples
 Installing equipment in the house
 Monitor patients’ vitals
 Allows for home-bound patients to be able to
interact with health care professionals

9. Examples
 For health care
professionals that
cannot make it to the
patients on time
 For other health care
professionals that are
not in the same location

10. Telemedicine
continues to
advance and allow
patients to have the
quality care they
deserve.

11. References
 American Telemedicine Association. (2012). What is telemedicine? Retrieved from
http://www.americantelemed.org/about-telemedicine/what-is-telemedicine#.
VE_-TL64n6Z
 California Telehealth Resource Center. (2014) Telehealth. Retrieved from
http://www.caltrc.org/telehealth/telehealth-facts/
 DGTelemed. (2014). Telemedicine: Examples of telemedicine. Retrieved from
http://www.dgtelemed.de/de/telemedizin/anwendungsbeispiele.php
 Hjelm, N.M. (2005). Benefits and drawbacks of telemedicine. Journal of
Telemedicine and Telecare, 11, p. 60-70. http:/
telemedicina6.unifesp.br/set/curso/2006-06-19-pgsaude/
Fundamental_BenefitsandDrawbacksofTelemedicine.pdf