Telehealth is the use of electronic information and health information technologies to support long-distance patient-doctor interaction. Telemedicine is a form of health care delivery that utilizes health information technologies in rendering health care services such as in-home monitoring and consultations to patients in remote or underserved areas. These services can be delivered by interactive video, the storage and transmission of diagnostic images, and by devices that collect and send data such as vital signs, EKG, or blood glucose levels[1]. The Institute of Medicine defines telemedicine as “the use of electronic information and communication technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates participants[2]. The IOM Committee on Evaluating Clinical Applications of Telemedicine found “…telemedicine is not a single technology or a discrete set of related technologies; it is, rather a large and very heterogeneous collection of clinical practices, technologies, and organizational arrangements.”

With the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Telemedicine Communications Act of 1996, telehealth has become more accessible in both the private and public sectors by lifting regulatory barriers to the usage of such technologies. The Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) enables rural residents to receive health care services through the usage of telemedicine. The main objective of the RHCPP is to support broadband connectivity to health care providers through funding to provide access to care in rural communities. On June 22, 2016, the President signed an amendment to the Telemedicine Communications Act of 1996 that now includes skilled nursing facilities as an allowable type of health care provider to receive support from the FCC. Thus, increasing access to care in rural populations has become an attainable benefit of providing telemedicine services. Another benefit of telehealth is the capability of coordinating care more efficiently to meet the patient’s needs in the delivery of health care. One such way to achieve this goal is through the use of electronic health records. Electronic health records are digital medical records designed to store and share health information that contains one’s medical history. The use of electronic health records allows one’s doctors and other health care providers to share information instantaneously. Telehealth focuses on improving one’s access to care. As a result, more rural communities now have access to specialty services and do not have to travel far to obtains such services. Telemedicine also provides the framework for physicians to monitor and make clinical decisions of patients in remote areas to empower patients in self-managing their illness.

[1] What is Telemedicine?  Washington, D.C.: American Telemedicine Association. Retrieved 21 August 2011.

[2] Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care (IOM, 1996).