title: Theory and applications of telemedicine.
abstract: In this study, telemedicine and the use of advanced telemedicine technologies are explained. Telemedicine is the use of modern telecommunications and information technologies for the provision of clinical care to individuals at a distance, and transmission of information to provide that care. Telemedicine can be used for decision making, remote sensing, and collaborative arrangements for the real-time management of patients at a distance. The use of telecommunications and information technologies in providing health services is determined. Telemedicine is described as combination of topics from the fields of telecommunication, medicine, and informatics. The medical systems infrastructure consisting of the equipment and processes used to acquire and present clinical information and to store and retrieve data are explained in details. The challenges existing in telemedicine development in different countries are given. Technological, political, and professional barriers in applications of telemedicine are defined. An investigation of telemedicine applications in various fields is presented, and enormous impact of telemedicine systems on the future of medicine is determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronics and Computer Education, Faculty of Technical Education, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. fnguler@tef.gazi.edu.tr
authors.forename: Nihal Fatma
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Güler
authors.forename: Elif Derya
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Ubeyli
mesh_terms: D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006801:Humans; D019451:Information Management; D020407:Internet; D008491:Medical Informatics Applications; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013685:Telecommunications; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D013686:Telemetry; D014584:User-Computer Interface