Technological development and innovations have always influenced the medical field and the healthcare system. Telemedicine or Telehealth as it is also known, has been called the modern day house call. Many hospitals and doctors offices, are implementing this new technology into their normal practices. Murdoch defines telemedicine “in its broadest definition as the assessment and review of patient information (history, examination, or investigations) by a health professional who is separated temporally and/or spatially from the patient” (p. 1254). Telemedicine allows the patient to consult with their provider via a two way video, email, fax and sometimes telephone. This is all done from the comfort of the patients home, office or local healthcare facility. There are several benefits when this method of care is used. These benefits can be seen from three distinctive perspectives, the patients, the providers and quality of life and economic development.
From a patients perspective telemedicine
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The biggest issues is confidentiality and security. As with any computer or telecommunication system there is always a risk. Firewalls and other security devices sometimes fail to work properly, putting all the patients sensitive information at risk. Each practitioner that utilizes telemedicine practices are liable, if these breaches in security or unauthorized access occur. This provides a serious legal issue that should not be taken lightly. Another issue that arises is, when a patient is located in one state and the provider is in another. Telemedicine interstate practices and laws are not uniform from state to state. Making it difficult for some patients to receive much needed speciality care. Another issue that sometimes arises is the inability of the provider to pick up on some nonverbal clues, that could drastically change a patients treatment