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Telemedicine
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Telemedicine is the use of electronic communication and information technologies to provide health care when distance separates the medical professional from the patient. It includes using equipment such as telephones, fax machines or computers and interactive multimedia. Telemedicine transports medical information through telecommunication links, PC’s, imaging equipment and specialized audio and video for the treatment and diagnosis of patients. It has the ability to improve health care over far and distant locations and reduce expenses. History Telecommunication has been around for hundreds of years. However the exact time and date of when telecommunication use began in health care is not known. In spite of this, when telephones were invented physicians were amongst the first to adopt them. Einthoven, as well, who was the developer of the electrocardiogram, transmitted heart tracings through telephone lines from a hospital to his laboratory. He stated that he could foresee a drop in a patient’s heartbeat before the patient’s physician was aware of what happened. Telephones have been around for many years in the medical community and are still in use because of its simplicity and availability. Radio communication is also been around for a while and is mostly used in ships and boats which are in remote areas, to transfer medical information back and forth. First Generation Telemedicine It is said that telemedicine can date back to the 1950’s when a two-way, closed circuit, microwave television psychiatric consultation between Nebraska Psychiatric Institute and a state mental hospital. The physician evaluated many patients and did group therapy over a distance. Later in the 1960’s, a project was done in Massachusetts General Hospital and emergency departments at the airports where an interactive television microwave link was created between the two. The network included an electro-cardiograph, stethoscope and voice transmission abilities. The main point of this project was tele-diagnosis, so that the emergency staff at the airport would be able to get aid and assistance from the staff at the hospital. These earlier projects soon developed into a number of different projects that used microwave, satellite or laser beam technology.
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