Establishing Telemedicine In Developing Countries

Telemedicine and Mobile Surgery in Extreme Conditions: The Ecuadorian Experience -- Telemedicine in the Indian Context: An Overview -- Telehealth: The Backbone of Healthcare Financing -- VII. New Frontiers for Telemedicine Applications -- Telepresence and Telemedicine in Trauma and Emergency Care Management -- Telepresence and Telementoring in Surgery -- Medical Care from Space: Telemedicine -- VIII. New Initiatives in Virtual Education -- The French Language Virtual Medical University -- Creating A Virtual Sanctuary for Scholars -- Epilogue -- Author Information -- Author Index

In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care. In that report, the IOM Committee on Evaluating Clinical Applications of Telemedicine found telemedicine is similar in most respects to other technologies for which better evidence of effectiveness is also being demanded. Telemedicine, however, has some special characteristics-shared with information technologies generally-that warrant particular notice from evaluators and decision makers. Since that time, attention to telehealth has continued to grow in both the public and private sectors. Peer-reviewed journals and professional societies are devoted to telehealth, the federal government provides grant funding to promote the use of telehealth, and the private technology industry continues to develop new applications for telehealth. However, barriers remain to the use of telehealth modalities, including issues related to reimbursement, licensure, workforce, and costs. Also, some areas of telehealth have developed a stronger evidence base than others. The Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) sponsored the IOM in holding a workshop in Washington, DC, on August 8-9 2012, to examine how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. health care system. HRSA asked the IOM to focus on the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals and extend the reach of scarce resources while also emphasizing the quality and value in the delivery of health care services. This workshop summary discusses the evolution of telehealth since 1996, including the increasing role of the private sector, policies that have promoted or delayed the use of telehealth, and consumer acceptance of telehealth. The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Workshop Summary discusses the current evidence base for telehealth, including available data and gaps in data; discuss how technological developments, including mobile telehealth, electronic intensive care units, remote monitoring, social networking, and wearable devices, in conjunction with the push for electronic health records, is changing the delivery of health care in rural and urban environments. This report also summarizes actions that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can undertake to further the use of telehealth to improve health care outcomes while controlling costs in the current health care environment.

A new addition to the successful telehealth series,Telehealth in the Developing Worldaims to balance the relative lack of published information on successful telehealth solutions in the developing world.

This book represents the most current development on the expanding and changing field of telemedicine and e-health, especially in the developing countries. Many things have changed since the publication of the first book in 2004 (Establishing Telemedicine in Developing Countries: From Inception to Implementation). Telemedicine has become more popular, and still continues to grow. While there are many good books and materials on telemedicine, this publication can be seen at the work of reference for all of those who want to practice telemedicine and e-health, particularly in developing countries. This publication deals with ways to establish telemedicine and e-health system, not only in the developing countries, but also in the developed world. Hopefully, this book will be a guide that reflects the status of telemedicine at the given time. It is dedicated to all future generations of telemedicine and e-health students which include healthcare practitioners, administrators, policy makers, technical professionals and others.

This book represents the most current development on the expanding and changing field of telemedicine and e-health, especially in the developing countries. Many things have changed since the publication of the first book in 2004 (""Establishing Telemedicine in Developing Countries: From Inception to Implementation""). Telemedicine has become more popular, and still continues to grow. While there are many good books and materials on telemedicine, this publication can be seen as a work of reference for all of those who want to practice telemedicine and e-health, particularly in developing countr.

This book presents a replicable model of multidisciplinary teleconsultation, designed and set up by Global Health Telemedicine, that offers very significant health benefits in remote and rural areas of developing countries. The model is based on experiences gained in sub-Saharan Africa while training and cooperating with local health professionals within the DREAM program, managed by the Community of Sant’Egidio. This program has to date treated almost 300,000 patients across many countries and has provided health education and disease prevention training to tens of millions. It originated in the context of the fight against AIDS but has been extended to encompass other pathologies and to exploit the capabilities of new telemedicine technologies that allow multispecialist teleconsultation (hence the acronym now represents “Disease Relief through Excellent and Advanced Means”). In addition to thorough description of the program, readers will find reflections and analysis on logistical, technical, sociological, and epidemiological issues. The book is divided into thematic chapters with easy-to-understand graphics. It will be a readily accessible source of information for professionals in international cooperation and global health students and professionals.

Telemedicineâ€"the use of information and telecommunications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates the participantsâ€"is receiving increasing attention not only in remote areas where health care access is troublesome but also in urban and suburban locations. Yet the benefits and costs of this blend of medicine and digital technologies must be better demonstrated before today's cautious decision-makers invest significant funds in its development. Telemedicine presents a framework for evaluating patient care applications of telemedicine. The book identifies managerial, technical, policy, legal, and human factors that must be taken into account in evaluating a telemedicine program. The committee reviews previous efforts to establish evaluation frameworks and reports on results from several completed studies of image transmission, consulting from remote locations, and other telemedicine programs. The committee also examines basic elements of an evaluation and considers relevant issues of quality, accessibility, and cost of health care. Telemedicine will be of immediate interest to anyone with interest in the clinical application of telemedicine.

The development of better processes to provide proper healthcare has enhanced contemporary society. By implementing effective collaborative strategies, this ensures proper quality and instruction for both the patient and medical practitioners. Health Care Delivery and Clinical Science: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly material on emerging strategies and methods for delivering optimal healthcare and examines the latest techniques and methods of clinical science. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as medication management, health literacy, and patient engagement, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for professionals, practitioners, researchers, academics, and graduate students interested in healthcare delivery and clinical science.