The Advantages of Telemedicine

The Disadvantages of Telemedicine

Types of Telemedicine

• Telepathology
• Teledermatology
• Teleradiology
• Primary Care 

Links to Other Telemedicine Sites
 

 As one of the most used clinical aspects of telemedicine, teleradiology has become more advanced in the past few years.  Basically, teleradiology attempts to transfer CT scans, MRI’s, and/or X- rays from one location to another.  These locations may include from one hospital to another, one imaging center to a hospital, and an imaging center or hospital to a physician’s home.  The process of sending the information from one location to another includes acquiring the images digitally, transferring the images over the computer, and eventually displaying them on video monitors.  This process is called filmless teleradiology and is being implemented in many hospitals.  Another option is the use of Digital Imaging.  In this process, T1 communication lines are used to transmit clearer pictures.  These images can then be magnified, reduced, enhanced, and have black- white reversal in order to facilitate interpretation.  Although telemedicine equipment enables teleconsulting with urban specialists and makes radiologists available twenty- four hours per day, there are various disadvantages involving the use of teleradiology.  First of all, many of the images transmitted are not as clear as the actual X- rays, and often times, many films sent over are lost in the process or not available when needed.  Secondly, even though costs have gone down due to advancements in technology, there are still high costs for the image display equipment.  Finally, many physicians do not prefer teleradiology because reading them on a computer screen takes too much time and they are not familiar with the equipment.  Recently, many questions have been developed in teleradiology.  For one, many inquire about the average accuracy of findings and impressions of the images.  Additionally, there are doubts about the average confidence radiologists have in the accuracy of findings and impressions.  Furthermore, questions have been raised concerning the ability of radiologists to avoid false negative and false positive findings.   Finally, people are wondering if the technical controls for image enhancement improve the accuracy of findings and impressions.  (Telemedicine: Theory and Practice)