TELEMEDICINE

A PRESENTATION BY : ROCKSON OHENE

ASANTE
KSPH, MHA, 1ST YEAR, SEMESTER 1

MODULE : HA6001
DIRECTED BY : HIMANSHU SEKHAR PRADHAN
TO BE SUBMITTED TO : PURNIMA BHOI
 Table of content

 Introduction &History
 Concepts and Definitions
 Need/Relevance of Telemedicine
 Types of Telemedicine
 Features and Categories
 Benefits of Telemedicine
 Challenges in Telemedicine.
 Recommendation & Conclusion
 Reference
 Introduction
 Telemedicine refers to the delivery of medical
care and provision of general health services
from a distance.
 The prefix ‘tele’ means far off or afar
 Medicine is the field of health and healing. It
includes nurses, doctors, and various specialists.
It covers diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of
disease, medical research, and many other
aspects of health.
 Introduction
 “The delivery of health care services, where distance is a
critical factor, by all health care professionals using
information and communication technologies for the
exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and
prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation,
and for the continuing education of health care providers,
all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals
and their communities.” - WHO on TELEMEDICINE
Historical Perspective of
Telemedicine
 History

 NASA’s role in the development of telemedicine in the 1960s

 In 1972 -75 Space Technology Applied to Rural Papago
Advanced Health Care (STARPAHC) delivered medical care to
the Papago Indian Reservation in Arizona. It was conceived by
the NASA.
 In 1977, the Telemedicine Centre at the Memorial University of
Newfoundland, Canada worked toward developing interactive
audio networks for educational programs and the transmission of
medical data.
History

Dr. Jay H. Sanders

(Father of Telemedicine)

 President and CEO of

The Global
Telemedicine Group
 Professor of Medicine
at Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine
 Concepts and Definitions
 Telehealth : The use of electronic information and telecommunications
technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and
professional health-related education and training, public health and health
administration
 Teleconsultation : The use of information and communications technology to
enable clinical consultation between geographically separated individuals such
as health care professionals and their patients or health care professionals
engaged in diagnostic, mentoring, or other clinical decisionmaking activities
related to the delivery of health care services.
 Telemonitoring, Teletreatment, Patient Information Record (PIR), etc...
 Telemedicine, the NEED?

The world has successfully used

technology to reach Mars...

...but we have failed to

reach them….

Dr. Suresh Bada Math (Head of Telemedicine

Department, NIMHANS)
 Relevance of Telemedicine

 Inadequate infrastructure in rural/district hospitals

 Large number of indoor/outdoor patients requiring referral
for specialized care
 Low-availability of Health Experts in district/remote
hospitals
 Dearth of adequate opportunities for training or continuing
Medical Education for Doctors in Rural/Remote Health
facilities.
 Types of Telemedicine
 Real time or synchronous telemedicine (live)


Store-and- forward or asynchronous telemedicine
 Types of Telemedicine
 Remote monitoring, also known as self-monitoring or self-
testing

 Health professional to health professional

 Features and Categories

Categories of
Features of Telemedicine
Telemedicince
 Teleconsultation  Telenutrition
 Telemonitoring
 Telenursing
 Telepresence
 Teleneurology
 Telediagnosis

 Teletreatment
 Telerehabilitation
 Application of Telemedicine

 EDUCATIONAL

 HEALTHCARE DELIVERY (Consultations, Vitals monitoring)

 HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT

 SCREENING OF DISEASES(Screening projects for Diseases)

 DISASTER MANAGEMENT

 MEDICAL TOURISM
 Benefits of Telemedicine
Socioeconomic benefit


Facilitates equitable access to medical care services regardless of the



geographical location;
cost containment
improving quality of care
reduces waiting times
preventing more serious complications and HAIs
reducing number of referrals
influences education and competence both at primary health care and hospital
levels

Facilitates the viability of organizational models such as



continuity of care and patient-centered health care,

applying the concepts of comprehensiveness and interoperability in health care
organizations
 Challenges in Telemedicine.

 Technological environment
 Lack of technological infrastructure and skills
 Poor coverage in certain areas of the territory
 Data security and confidentiality
 Organizational environment
 the (re)design of the medical care model
 need for learning about the new health care model
 conflicts about professional recognition and insecurity
 Human environment
 The human nature is resistant to change
 Economic environment
 Implementation cost and project sustainability
 Recommendation

 Encouraging Insurance companies and government funded schemes to

incorporate telemedicine as part of their health insurance scheme for yearly

health checkups

 All PHCs should be provided with the required technologies to connect with

the tertiary telemedicine centers.

 Also, certain mobile units should be created to enhance the accessibility for

the hard-to-reach rural areas as well

 Education to effect behavioural change

 MY PIECE!

“All in all, Telemedicine is a great tool to answer the scarcity of

doctors, specialists, and facilities to avoid unnecessary contact, to save
patient time and cost etc. Its advantages are tremendous. However,
there are some challenges too. If these challenges are tackled
properly, and professional ethics are maintained, Telemedicine
can change the way we practice Medicine, for the greater good.”

THANK YOU
 Resources
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC
7690251
/
 American Telemedicine Association
 World Health Organisation