Telemedicine has evolved from early 20th century ideas of using radio to connect doctors and patients remotely. In the 1960s and 1970s, government and private organizations invested in research on telemedicine. There are three main types of telemedicine: interactive, store-and-forward, and remote patient monitoring using mobile devices. Telemedicine provides benefits like lower costs, improved access to care, and reduced infection risk. However, insurance coverage and protecting medical data are disadvantages. Teleconsultation allows specialists to consult without travel via electronic means. Major international organizations support telemedicine research and applications. Saudi Arabia has implemented telehealth applications like Sehhaty and Anat.

1. Telemedicine History,
teleconsultation purposes
and Organization
Dr Shazia Iqbal
Course Director Telemedicine

2. What is Telemedicine?
• Telemedicine is a practice where the provider and client /
patient are not present for face-to-face interaction, yet
patients can get the facilities of healthcare.
• Telemedicine its tool that make healthcare more accessible
cost effective and that increases patient engagement .

3. Early Fantasies in Telemedicine History
• In the early 1900s, radio revolutionized communication. Inspired
by radio’s sudden prominence in every field from entertainment
to national defense, it wasn’t long before innovators started
imagining how doctors could attend to patients over the radio.
A Radio News Magazine from 1924 features an illustration of a
doctor attending to a patient via video call, under the headline
“The Radio Doctor–Maybe!” At that point, this was only an
editor’s vision of the future technology, but 90 years later these
dreams would be realized.

4. The Evolution of Telemedicine
• Telemedicine became popular in rural areas, where
populations with limited healthcare access could now
reach specialists from afar. In the 1960’s and 70’s, the
Public Health Department, NASA, the Department of
Defense and the U.S. Health and Human
Services Department all invested time and money for
research in telemedicine.

6. 3 common types of telemedicine are:
1.Interactive medicine – real time doctor – patient
2. Store and Forward – patients’ particulars sharing where
needed
3.Remote Patient monitoring – by using mobile devices and
apps.
•

7. Benefits for patients
• Lower costs
• Preventive care
• Convenience
• Improved access to care
• Slowing the spread of infection

8. Benefits for healthcare providers
• Reduced overhead expenses: Providers who offer telemedicine
services may incur fewer overhead costs. For example, they may
pay less for front desk support or be able to invest in an office space
with fewer exam rooms.
• Additional revenue stream: Clinicians may find that telemedicine
supplements their income because it allows them to provide care to
more patients.
• Less exposure to illness and infections: When providers see
patients remotely, they do not have to worry about exposure to any
pathogens the patient may carry.
• Patient satisfaction: When a patient does not have to travel to the
office or wait for care, they may be happier with their provider.

9. Disadvantages for patients
• Insurance coverage: Not all insurers cover telemedicine. Only
26 states currently require insurers to cover or reimburse the
costs of telemedicine. However, these laws are constantly
changing.
• Protecting medical data: Hackers and other criminals may be
able to access a patient’s medical data, especially if the patient
accesses telemedicine on a public network or via an
unencrypted channel.
• Care delays: When a person needs emergency care, accessing
telemedicine first may delay treatment, particularly since a
doctor cannot provide life saving care or laboratory tests
digitally.

11. Teleconsultation Purposes

12. What is Teleconsultation?
• Teleconsultation, sometimes referred to as remote
consultation or telehealth, refers to interactions that
happen between a clinician and a patient for the
purpose of providing diagnostic or therapeutic advice
through electronic means.

13. Tele-consultation Purposes
• The goal of teleconsultation is to omit geographical and
functional distance between two or more geographically
separated health care providers.

14. Teleconsultation
• No transportation time or costs.
• No need to take time off work.
• Eliminate child or elder care issues.
• On-demand options.
• Access to Specialists.
• Less Chance of Catching a New Illness.
• Less Time in the Waiting Room.
• Better Health.

15. Teleconsultation step one

16. Organization & Application

17. International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH)
ISfTeH is an organization determined to
facilitate the “international dissemination of
knowledge and experience in Telemedicine
and eHealth and providing access to
recognized experts in the field worldwide

18. International Council of Nurses (ICN) Telenursing Network
ICN Telenursing network strives to,
educate, support and collaborate with
nurses and nurse supporters from across
the globe who have an interest in
telenursing with the goal of improving the
timeliness, quality and access of a broad
range of healthcare services

19. The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT)
OAT in the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
(FORHP) promotes the use of telehealth
technologies for health care delivery,
education, and health information services to
promote and improve telehealth services in
rural areas, including: the Telehealth Grant
Network Program, Rural Veterans Health Access
Program, and the Telehealth Resource Centers
Grant Program.

20. 937 in Saudi Arabia

21. Sehhaty in Saudi Arabia
Sehhaty is an application to provide health services to people in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It allows the user to access health
information and obtain a Many health services provided by
various authorities in the health sector in the Kingdom, and one
of the most important services is to book an appointment for a
Corona (COVID-19) test after conducting a self-evaluation of the
symptoms of the virus in addition to services for updating and
following up on vital checks, Tracking dispensed medicines,
reviewing and sharing sick leaves, counting steps, and other
services

22. Anat in Saudi Arabia
A platform for health practitioners
aimed at providing channels of
communication between health
practitioners of various specialties and
provide services that facilitate their
work and raise the level of services
provided to patients.

24. • https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/telemedicine-
benefits#disadvantages
• Giulio Nittari, Ravjyot Khuman, Simone Baldoni, Graziano Pallotta, Gopi Battineni,
Ascanio Sirignano, Francesco Amenta, and Giovanna Ricci
Pages:1427–1437Published Online:12 February 2020
• Mehrotra A, Chernew M, Linetsky D, Hatch H, Cutler D. The impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient visits: practices are adapting to the new
normal. Commonwealth Fund. Published June 25, 2020. Accessed July 15, 2020..
References
• Telemedicine: opportunities and developments in member states.
Report on the second global survey on eHealth 2010