1. Technology in Medicine
Computers in health care
Medical information systems
Administrative applications
Office management systems
Clinical and special purpose systems

2. Other Applications
Computer-assisted surgery
Prosthetics
Pharmacy

3. Computer-assisted surgery
Computer-assisting surgical planning
Robotics
Minimally invasive surgery
endoscopic surgery
laparoscopic surgery

4. Prosthetic Devices Myoelectric limbs Microprocessors
Computer technology for vision and hearing

5. The Computerized Pharmacy
Computers and drug errors
The automated community pharmacy
Hospital pharmacy robot and bar-codes
Point-of-use drug dispensing

6. Radiology and Digital Imaging
X-rays
Traditional vs. digital x-ray
Mammography
Ultrasound
Digital imaging
Computerized tomography
Magnetic resonance imaging
Positron emission tomography

7. Bloodless surgery Interventional radiology Stereotactic radiosurgery
Focused ultrasound surgery

8. Telemedicine
Definition: “The use of computers, the Internet, and other communication technologies to provide medical care to patients at a distance.”
Forms:
Voice
Data
Still images
Motion picture

9. Telemedicine
Includes:
Diagnoses
Patient monitoring
Treatments

10. Telemedicine Telehealth:
Larger field that includes health-related education
public health research
health services administration

11. Telemedicine Advantages:
Brings high quality medical care to anyone regardless of distance
Decreases patient wait time
Decreases patient travel time

12. Telemedicine
Teleradiology: Oldest form of telemedicine using computers and telecommunications .
Interactive video conferencing: Conferencing that allows medical professionals and patients to consult in real-time, using telephones and video screens.

13. Telemedicine
Telepathology: Transmission of microscopic images over telecommunications lines allowing the pathologist to view images on a monitor instead of under a microscope.
Telepsychiatry: Uses teleconferencing to deliver psychotherapy. May not be suitable for some types of mental illness.

14. Telemedicine Remote monitoring devices Telespironmetry-
used for asthma patients
information transmitted over telephone lines to remote location
Arrhythmia monitoring
ECG telemetry that monitors a patient’s cardiac status and sends it to a remote location

15. Effectiveness of Telemedicine
Examining a patient at a distance is not the same as examining that patient face to face
In prisons, telemedicine has led to decreased costs and improved health care for inmates

16. Effectiveness of Telemedicine
Medical assistants at the remote sites may be useful
Distance and transmission rates create questions
Small hospitals and clinics may find hardware costs prohibitive
Research studies generally favorable for medical and cost effectiveness

17. Use of Telemedicine (Federal)
Health care to the elderly (homebound)
Connect rural primary care physicians to urban specialists
Allow families of high-risk newborns to watch babies’ hospital care from home
Data can be transmitted from ambulance to ER
Patients with chronic illnesses can receive medication reminders at home

18. Issues in Telemedicine
Technical issues
appropriate telecommunications infrastructure must be in place
not available in some rural and urban areas
requires high bandwidth (cable modem)

19. Issues in Telemedicine
Insurance issues
insurance may not cover all telemedicine
Legal issues
State licensing laws differ in each state
liability is not clear
Privacy issues
electronic medical record subject to misuse (more accessible and subject to abuse)
HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)