Topic of the Month June: Telemedicine

© Wiegand, DKFZ

A consultation with a colleage in the US, specialised medical support for hospitals in rural areas, digital patient data systems - telemedicine is gaining importance in general medicine.

Telemedicine is the transfer of electronic medical data from one location to another in the form of texts, pictures and charts. The broad aim is to improve the quality of health care, disease control and health promotion. Applications of telemedicin include continuing medical education (CME), administrative applications (electronic ‘smart’ health card), consultation and clinical diagnosis, telesurgery as well as research and development.

Teleradiology is still the leading telemedicine application in human medicine. This year alone over 600,000 teleradiology consultations are expected be performed, three times more than all other telemedicine applications together. - Advances in Teleradiology

European Union leaders are set to give the go-ahead to an electronic health smartcard. The health insurance card will replace paper forms as well as facilitate and simplify procedures for citizens, doctors, hospitals and social insurance foundations. - Health Informatics – Safety, Security and Applications

Many universities and research centers are working on telemedicine projects. MEDICA.de presents some of these efforts. - Current Research and Projects in Telemedicine

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