Telehealth
According to HRSA’s Office of Telehealth, telehealth is the blanket term that covers the use of both electronic and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care. CyberMedicine is obviously an enormously important section of telehealth.
Telehealth Offices
The importance, potential and current limitations of telehealth have been largely recognized by the health care community. Organizations from the Federal level to small businesses have created offices of telehealth.
HRSA Telehealth
The US Department of Heath Resources and Services Administration, HRSA, has an Office of Telehealth. According to the Web site, their Office of Telehealth fosters partnerships both within HRSA and with other groups to create telehealth projects. They administer telehealth grant programs. They provide technical assistance and evaluate the use of telehealth technologies and programs. They develope telehealth policy initiatives to improve access to quality health services. HRSA Telehealth also promotes knowledge exchange about “best telehealth practices.”
Rochester General Hospital Office of Telehealth
Even hospitals have recognized the importance of telehealth. Rochester General Hospital in the city of Rochester in upstate New York created its Office of Telehealth to increase access to specialists. The office offers services for both in and out patients. It offers specialty physician consults to other hospitals and clinics in surrounding rural areas where recruitment of highly specialized physicians has been a problem.
Small Organizations and Telehealth
Even small organizations like Home Health Visiting Nurses of Southern Maine have offices of telehealth. The goal of HomeHealth’s Telehealth Services is to use cyberMedicine to provide interactive home healthcare at a lower cost. They provide real-time “video visits” that lets patients see and hear the teleheath nurse. The nurses perform medical assessments, monitor vital signs, evaluate wound status and provide self-care education. The hope is that telehealth technology will help reduce patient hospitalization and improve the quality of life for chronic care patients.
Potential and the Importance of an Organized Approach
I think that the all-encompassing potential of telehealth, specifically cyberMedicine is pretty obvious. It can and is being used to do everything from increase access to specialist healthcare to assisting patients in the home. It has the potential to do great things. There are also many limitations in the current system. I think that the wide-spread attention and focus on telehealth will help further it. I believe that an organized focus on telehealth and the technologies that make it possible, especially on the Federal level will allow for a much easier transition into a world where telehealth is used to its full potential.
Links
HomeHealth Telehealth Services
Article by Medical Director of the Office of Telehealth, Rochester General Hospital
