Introduction
Telemedicine involves the use of electronic communications to enable health care providers to share individual patient medical information, for
the purpose of improving patient care.
The information may be used for diagnosis, therapy, follow-up and/or education, and may include any of the following:
Electronic systems used will incorporate network and software security protocols to protect the confidentiality of patient identification and imaging data and will include measures to safeguard the data and to ensure its integrity against intentional or unintentional corruption.
Expected Benefits
Improved access to medical care by enabling patients to remain in their local/remote area.
More efficient medical evaluation and management.
Obtaining expertise of a distant physician.
Possible Risks
As with any medical procedure, there are potential risks associated with the use of telemedicine. These risks include, but may not be limited to:
In rare cases, information transmitted may not be sufficient to allow for appropriate medical decision making by the physician
Delays in medical evaluation and treatment could occur due to deficiencies or failures of the equipment.
In very rare instances security protocols could fail, causing a breach in privacy of personal medical information.