Page 21 - Part 1 Introduction to Telemedicine

SVMIC Introduction to Telemedicine

However, these categories may operate concurrently and may
overlap. As mentioned, many clinical communications that might

not be defined strictly as telemedicine (like e-mail, or messaging
through an EHR portal) nevertheless are widely used with

powerful value and implications for medical practice.

A Few Use Cases

Even a decade ago, it might have been possible to hear a debate

in the doctors’ lounge whether practicing medicine over the

telephone is ethical; but, today’s practitioner makes use of so many
data channels that the fact that some of them are remote or

asynchronous is taken for granted.

Complex care management increasingly involves splitting

expertise across time and space. No one today blinks at the idea

that an EMT on an ambulance could attach EKG leads to a patient
in transit, and transmit the tracing to a cardiologist miles away.

Nothing in the cardiology skill set requires them to apply the leads
personally, and nothing in the EMT skill set would make them

question the value of the cardiologist’s remote interpretation. What

difference does it make if the radiologist reading the midnight
ultrasound is in the next room, in their bedroom at home or in a

country where the local time is noon?

This doesn’t mean that a hands-on exam by an expert neurologist

or surgeon isn’t sometimes necessary for adequate decision

making. What it does mean is that some components of excellent
care do not require physical presence, as long as the information

needed is present.

Page | 21