Types of Telemedicine
4 types to choose from
Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications to deliver clinical services at a distance. Telehealth refers to different ways of enhancing healthcare, public health, and health education delivery and support through technology. It encompasses such technologies as video consultations, text messages, and remote monitoring devices. Other similar terms are m-health, e-health and connected health. The practice of telemedicine and telehealth falls into four main categories:
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Store-and-Forward:
Store-and-forward telemedicine, also called asynchronous telemedicine, uses software to store data, medical history, images, reports, and any and all other information that will be useful to healthcare providers. Text messaging is an example of store-and-forward.
Remote Patient Monitoring:
Remote patient monitoring, also called self-monitoring and telemonitoring, relies on patients using various forms of medical technology to test and monitor themselves from their homes. The devices used by the patients transmit data back to telemedicine systems which are then received and evaluated by medical professionals.
Real-time Interactive Services:
Real-time telemedicine, or Interactive telemedicine, uses real-time video and allows medical professionals to consult, assess, diagnose, and prescribe from thousands of miles away. It is delivered through virtual visits between patients and healthcare providers from home, work, or school.
Stored Interactive:
Stored Interactive, a new type of Telemedicine, is considered store and forward technology, much like text messaging, but with many of the benefits of interactive services, like real-time video. For example, interaction through Healthchat, allows patients to clearly show doctors their symptoms through recorded video messages. This is more efficient than text messaging or phone calls for both patients and doctors, lowering the margin of diagnostic error and at the same time bringing convenience not found in interactive services.
