What is Telemedicine?

Telemedicine and Telehealth are two related terms that are often used interchangeably. Telehealth is providing care at a distance utilizing medical and related data transferred via audio, video, and/or other types of telecommunications technology to provide or support clinical and non-clinical services (e.g., education, administration, public health). Telemedicine refers specifically to remote clinical services.

There are five common telehealth modalities: live video-conferencing also referred to as real-time or synchronous; store-and-forward; remote patient monitoring; eHealth; and mHealth.

What are the benefits of Telemedicine?

The benefits include, but are not limited to: reduced hospital admissions, reduced length of stay, improved access to specialists, reduced wait times, reduced no shows, increased medication compliance, improved patient outcomes, reduced transfers, cost savings, reduced travel (hence carbon footprint), reduced time away from school or work, improved outcomes, better communication and engagement between providers and patients, and overall better care.