There are inherent socio-economic and geographical barriers to health care. For example, it is often difficult for patients living in rural areas to access treatment. This problem is becoming increasingly more challenging due to the closing or downsizing of many local hospitals because of the rising costs of health care. These problems outside urban centers increase the cost of health care to the individual patient and ultimately impact the entire system. Telemedicine addresses this issue by providing equal access to health care services regardless of location.

	Benefits of Telemedicine Increased access to healthcare Expanded use of specialty expertise Availability of patient records Reduced cost of patient care The integration of medicine, tests, treatment and improved continuity of care Chronic condition management and the growth of home healthcare Continuing education or training of healthcare professionals unable to travel from rural areas Enhances patient’s knowledge for better understanding of his/her diagnosis and faster recognition of possible problems Individualizes the patient educational process by sending specific information based on his/her responses Improves medication compliance Eliminates gaps and allows for more proactive, targeted care Enhances the productivity of provider organizations by allowing healthcare professionals to manage more patients with existing resources

Without telemedicine, doctors lack timely access to critical clinical data at the time when diagnosis and treatment are made. This lack of critical data can create unnecessary testing, misdiagnoses, incorrect treatment, increased hospitals stays, and administration of ineffective medications and adverse drug reactions.

Beyond the obvious clinical care services, telemedicine also offers peacekeeping and battlefield applications, professional backup, consumer health information, continuing professional education and management of healthcare delivery options.

Telemedicine has mainly been concerned with the transmission of still images, video and other forms of medical data between rural and urban areas through computers, communication networks, and specialized medical equipment. With the advent of higher end technology, additional resources will become available to deliver care to individuals who previously have had no other access to medical care and want to improve their quality of life.

WHY IT WORKS

How many times have you wanted to speak to a physician about a medical issue, but couldn't get them on the phone or get an appointment for weeks or you couldn’t take the time from your busy day to schedule an appointment and travel to a doctor's office? Have you ever gone to an Emergency Room Just as a precaution because you didn’t have any other choice?

Perhaps you have a medical problem, but are afraid or embarrassed and don’t want to speak to a physician in person. Don't want to wait, wait, wait or get sicker and sicker! Sound familiar? Well, now Telemedicine helps to connect patients in need with a physician from the comfort of your home or office. All you usually need to get started is a phone or log online and in within minutes you are on your way to better health.

Telemedicine is generally defined as the remote delivery of health care via telecommunications. It is a concept that is rapidly becoming a practical method of health care delivery. Suppose people in Florida could visit the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, without leaving home? What if x-rays taken at a rural clinic in Colorado could be transferred electronically to an urban medical center in Denver for immediate diagnosis by a radiologist?

It is no longer necessary for the two parties involved in a medical encounter, a patient and a health care provider, to be in the same location simultaneously. Today's telecommunications infrastructure of satellites, the Internet, and telephone wires, coupled with advances in the ability to capture, store, transmit, and display electronic representations of medical information, has allowed doctors to do many things remotely that they have traditionally done in person. With further advances in digital and communications technologies, the number of health care applications that can be administered remotely is increasing rapidly.

Why do people utilize the emergency room as their primary care physician? Two reasons — open access and because no appointment is required.

While an ER visit may indeed treat medical needs, the reality is most visits end up being more about peace of mind. Recent statistics by the Center for Disease Control show a sharp increase in the number of ER visits combined with a sharp decrease in the number of true emergencies. That means more and more people are using the ER as an "after-hours doctor’s office," especially because many people don’t establish a relationship with a primary care physician until they absolutely need to.

Unfortunately, the access patients get in an emergency room comes at significant expense with the average ER visit costs three to five times higher than a regular office visit.

Beyond hitting consumers in their wallets, these needless ER visits place a greater demand on the health care system, resulting in higher health care costs system wide. Health care costs grew 8.3 percent in 2000, 11 percent in 2001, and an estimated 13 percent for the year 2002.

In total, as much as $300 billion of health care costs are unnecessary, inappropriate and/or wasteful. Rising health care costs result in higher insurance costs, making coverage more expensive for groups and for individuals.