Putting the 'tele' into health-care effectively.
Although the introduction of new technologies has been successful and become accepted practice in many areas of industry, traditional methods have tended to prevail in health-care. Telemedicine has been adopted by enthusiasts who recognize the potential benefits of a 'global health service'. However, the more widespread introduction of telemedicine requires considerable organizational change in the way health-care is delivered. More evaluation is required of clinical outcomes, organizational effects, benefits to health-care providers and users, and quality assurance.
Birch
K
K
Centre for Health Planning and Management, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK. hma22@keele.ac.uk
Rigby
M
M
Roberts
R
R
D014943:Global Health; D019981:Health Care Sector; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards