Telemedicine Books

Telemedicine and Telehealth is a timely and useful book. As a Physician and Consultant, Teleheath provides a soup to nuts discussion about the issues relating to telehealth.
The first chapter details basic definitions of the field. The next five chapters deals with the patient, physicans, Healthcare in general, and lastly specific telemedicine services. The authors suggest the formula for telehealth success as improved quality and access to care at a lower cost and without raising professional objestions.
I found the chapters developing the business case for Telemedicine and telehealth services most compelling. These markets are still in their infancy and are still struggling to develop their potential. The authors share with us their strategy for selling Telehealth services (page 157).
Telemedice and Telehealth, also provides a cautionary note. The authors indicate that to date they were not aware of studies demonstrating a viable telehealth model with the current legislation and reimbursement structure. Further issues such as licensure, quality assurance and backup systems remain to be clearly defined.
This book is an excellent read. Concise, articulate and timely. I would recommend this book to any one intersted in Telemedicine or Telehealth.

Conceptually, the answer to many of health care's challenges lie in the use of new information technologies. Knowing this is the case and making it happen are two very different entities. This book ably bridges these two entities. The devil, as always, is in the details and the authors deftly elaborate the problems and provide solutions. I recommend this book to practitioners, administrators, managers and policy makers who are energetic and enthusiastic about the future direction of health care. Errol L. Biggs, Ph.D., Director - Programs in Health Administration, University of Colorado

As a software developer and member of the American Telemedicine Association, I found this book to be a very valuable reference. Our company is developing software solutions to allow patients and health care providers easy, secure access to medical information. This book has helped us understand how telemedicine is developing and how it will be used, so that we can see the developing niches for our products. This book provides the larger view of this developing field and gives readers inspiration to enter the exciting field.

Review of: Telemedicine and Telehealth by Adam W. Darkins and Margaret A. Cary

This important book begins the necessary critical conversation of defining the fundamental of concepts and terms, as well as those areas of current and future applications, involved in the merging of health care delivery and high technology systems. The authors wisely suggest using the term Telehealth to address the broad range of health applications which high technology, the Internet in particular, can greatly impact.

These concerns are set in the context of both a historical view of health care and society, particularly in the more technologically developed societies of the U.S. Western Europe and Japan, and these societiesÕ current and future trends toward change of lifestyle driven by their adaptation of new technologies. These are vital concerns, both within health care delivery in particular, as well as within the economic and social evolution of these societies in general.

Their book focuses on the patientÕs experience of health care service as facilitated by this new technology rather than being yet another discussion of the fascinating innovations within the technology itself, a very important distinction.

Being physicians themselves, authors Darkins and Cary have professionally grown up through the very cusp of change they are defining for us; they know the pre-high technology delivery of health care and have been witness to, and advocates for, the introduction of high technology to the health care systems in which each have worked, both in the U.S. and England.

Their book is both comprehensive in its discussion of the issues involved as well as being detailed in its coverage of those particulars necessary to see the overall picture clearly.

Because of the timeliness of this merging of high technology and healthcare delivery, one wishes this book could be made more available to a wider reading public through a greater promotional effort by the publisher.

As a practicing physician with a keen interest in information technologies and their applications in healthcare, I always approach books like this with some bemusement. In turn, I was pleasantly surprised by my delight with this book. To succeed in the charge to bridge the digital divide and to eliminate health disparities, we physicians and managers will have to arm ourselves with timely solutions which are informed by experience and science. Coupled with the practical and the "how to" make "Telemedicine and Telehealth" a valuable resource for anyone interested in creating the future healthcare system. It connects and transcends the important elements and issues rather than just regurgitating the problems we've heard over and over again. If you believe, as I do, that the future of healthcare will be greatly enhanced by the new information technologies, this book helps to put the present and future in perspective. Darkins and Cary absolutely succeed!

Telephone medicine has become an increasingly large part of our practice, and much of the required knowledge and skills differ substantially from those required for "in-person" office-based medicine. This book was extremely well-organized, clearly and concisely written, and contained an abundance of useful tips. The authors used a thoughtful, evidence-based approach to common medical complaints, and the medico-legal section has already had an impact on our practice workflow.

Clearly presented, readable, and useful information on how to spot negligence among doctors, nurses, and staff, when they're using the telephone, for your dissatisfied patient/clients. I recommend this book highly.

As a physician in a busy clinical practice, I am flooded with phone calls from patients, many of whom are unable or unwilling to come to the office for an evaluation. Many crucial clinical decisions need to be made over the phone, and our medical training never covered this area. Thus, I was excited to see this book come on the market. Reisman and Stevens do not disappoint. In a concise manner, they review the major medical and ethical issues that arise in the course of a phone call. In the few months that I've owned the book, I've found myself turning to it over and over. One unique aspect is the discussion of medico-legal liability -- an area that all of us worry about but no one wants to talk about. I use this book for myself and in my teaching. This book is a must-have reference, and it sits on my shelf next to Harrison's, The Washington Manual, The PDR and the Sanford Guide.

Drs. Reisman and Stevens should be congratulated on their focused yet comprehensive text on telephone medicine for the practicing physician. As stated by the editors, the telephone call between patient and physician has become an integral part of providing medical care. This book provides crucial educational information regarding improving communication skills while it addresses the important and common issues that arise and prompt patients to call their physicians. In our clinic, attending physicians as well as resident physicians, carry out much of their clinical practice by phone and therefore, this book gives practical instruction on what questions to ask and how to examine from a "distance". This book has been waiting to be written. It has now been written, and written very well, and I would recommend it as required reading for all practicing physicians, especially resident physicians who are just learning how to incorporate telephone medicine into their medical practice.

This is a great resource. I have taught a class in computers in health care for undergraduates seeking degrees in health care administration since 1985; I've spent an increasing amount of time on telemedicine and e-health topics.

The authors have done a great job in pulling together all of the facts and concepts needed to effectively teach this subject. Detailed chapters on technologies, applications, and how to get started provide an excellent foundation. Chapters on challenges to maintaining confidentiality of patient information, malpractice pitfalls and ethical concerns with e-health are perfect for teachers and are essential reading to all professionals who are involved in the provision of these services. Final chapters emphasizing the evaluation of programs using these emerging (and imperfect) technologies temper the "let's do it because we can" spirit of telemedicine enthusiasts with the "let's make sure it works in the real world" concerns of administrators.

I'm particularly pleased with the effort made in every chapter to put a human face on the technologies involved. Much better than dry feature lists, these real-world examples will help my students (some of whom are health care practitioners returning for another degree) really understand what e-health will mean to us all.

If you are looking for the best book available on this topic, look no further.

Although the first part of the title of this readable book may be scary to us novices, the last two words should calm us: "For Everyone." The authors of this book have researched the topic of Emergency Management, so dear to the hearts of all corporate security VPs since 9-11, and have written a clear, precise, creative source on this difficult and timely topic.

By the use of pictures, parables, history (Dr. Eamon's Uncle Bob who was in the "hot zone" after the nuclear bomb in Japan) and the latest information on products and procedures, the four authors provide anyone who needs-to-know a complete compendium of preparation for, responses to, and the equipment needed for, a disaster of any proportion.

The "for everyone" idea is the surprise ribbon on this thoughtful, well-researched package. Every person concerned with emergencies, whether they work as safety directors, in EMS departments, or on a disaster recovery team, should use this book as ground zero for readiness and preparedness.

This book is a rare hybrid of policy, business, and technology perspectives on how to derive value from any service whcihcan be supported or delivered by information and communications technologies. Written by medical and health policy practitioners, who will remain by far the predominant audience for such a book, it is nonetheless also of more general interest to anyone who has to develop and articulate the multiple perspectives needed to succesfully design and implement large-scale IT applications dependent on telecommunications infrastructure.

This is the finest overview of medical informatics in print. Most such texts discuss the issues within informatics and approaches toward their solution. Coiera provides a cogent discussion of why the issues arise, how they interact with each other, and what they mean for clinicians and informaticians. The author's thought and language are remarkably clear and engaging. The discussion is set squarely in the context of healthcare (although more concrete clinical examples would aid clinicians who come to the book at the beginning of their work in informatics). It is informed by a deep understanding of research in medical informatics and computing. The book is an excellent introduction to the subject for clinicians, and I know very few informaticians whose understanding of the field and the specific problems within it would not be deepened and enriched by reading it.

This book is a good place to start if you're unsure of medical informatics and need some direction. It's helpful to get the book, read it, and then go to the references for further information on the topics that interest you.

I found the book surprisingly readable - the authors style makes it easy to read chapter after chapter with relative ease, far more so than other medical informatics books available. It's not an exhaustive book by any means, but I couldn't recommend a better place to test the water, and see if there's anything in Medical Informatics that grabs you.

This book provides a good overview of medical informatics. The concepts are introduced in a logical fashion, so that the chapters build on one another. I would recommend it to others as an introductory text. I wished for greater detail in some of the chapters (such as the ones on coding). I also found some of his explanations of models confusing/overly complicated. The chapter on the internet I found least helpful, perhaps because it provided little new information for me. The last section, on intelligent clinical decision support, was very sketchy, and the different approaches not well explained. This was especially true of the chapter on intelligent systems. On the minor complaint side, I found the lack of clear paragraph distinctions irritating, and some of the figures added nothing to the text and could have been left out.

Overall, it is a reasonable, readable, introduction to a broad subject.

A health care facility looking to introduce telemedicine as part of its services should not do so lightly. A well-intended but poorly instituted plan inhibits the sustainability of a successful program. Before implementing any sort of telemedicine program, spend some time thoroughly researching your organizations needs. A good resource to discover the best course of action is through Introduction to Telemedicine: second edition. The emphasis of this text is on obtaining the second addition. Telemedicine is a rapidly progressing field. It is important that any research materials used be as current and relevant as possible.

Introduction to Telemedicine is a very basic text structured towards healthcare organizations with little or no understanding of telemedicine. The text introduces the reader to the basics of the technology and common terms before thoroughly outlining important considerations to help create a sustainable telemedicine program. Well-known experts in the field independently write each chapter causing a great deal of repetition within the text, but this serves to enhance many of the important points. A multitude of relevant and current resources from books, web sites and research studies also assist in the process of discovering more about telemedicine.

The most valuable aspect of the text is the outline for beginning a program. A general framework discusses important steps and considerations. Much of the detail is left for the organization to ponder given that it is too difficult to delve into all the possibilities unique to each facility. However, the guide is still valuable as it allows an organization to learn from past successes and failures of others instead of wandering into uncharted waters alone. The major pitfalls and important reflections listed are invaluable to the provider. For instance, the team members selected to implement the plan is essential, but instead of a team of executives running the entire operation, a bottom up approach is strongly advisable. The people in the field are more aware about what type of services are needed and potential problems that might accompany a telemedicine program in their job.

A concerning fact repeated throughout the text is the substantial amount of failed telemedicine programs. Programs fail for numerous reasons, from funding that runs out to too broad a program, to poor training or technical implementation. However, this should not discourage a program, but serve to stress the importance of proper planning. Telemedicine has the potential to enhance the delivery of health care in many areas, but it is essential to research and plan appropriately in order to ensure its success.

What are some of the potential benefits from a telemedicine program? In the chapter Successfully Developing a Telemedicine System by Peter M Yellowlees, Smith is sited on his vision:
...where health care will be provided through both integrated and virtual systems anywhere, anytime, and where clinicians will focus on long-term relationships with patients, suppliers, funders and insurers, with the patient's role being much greater and more assertive than at present. Smith predicted that `industrial age medicine' will invert to become `information age health care' where `instead of being viewed as the apex of a system of care that hardly recognizes the large amount of self-care that occurs now, professional care will be viewed as a support to a system that emphases self-care'.

Smith's vision fits nicely into the field of complementary medicine. More and more people are disillusioned by the concept of the doctor knows best, and are beginning to take charge of their own health through their own personal research and alternative health modalities. With this new emerging concept of taking charge of ones own health, telemedicine has the opportunity to assist in the revolution by encouraging self care while still maintaining valuable technological connections with patients and the various specialists caring for them. Empowerment by the patient allows them a greater sense of hope to change their medical direction rather than solely relying on others to care of them. In addition, there may also be cost savings as well as a host of other benefits to the provider.

The future possibilities for telemedicine are expanding and can be of benefit to many. Patients in remote locations around the world can have access to needed care through remote consultations or monitoring. Specialists can consult through internet connections on cases more quickly. Patient medical records can be accessible to any patient's doctor without the need to have them copied, mailed or reentered. Even medical training is conveniently accessible as a continuing education option for medical staff. However an organization plans to implement a telemedicine program, the results are potentially of great benefit if approached properly. With vision and planning, the world can more closely to a comprehensive medical system accessible to the world.

Here is an upbeat look at future medicine. The ever cheaper cost of computing and communications promises significant improvements in telemedicine. The authors survey the possibilities.

Prominent amongst these is safety. Being able to remotely monitor elderly or others who might need urgent assistance. As the proportion of elderly increases in several countries, this affords lifestyle improvements and productivity gains.

In related ways, there are others who need regular monitoring of their health. The example of diabetics keeping an eye on their insulin levels in blood is given. Especially relevant, since diabetes has been increasing worldwide. For cases like this, the monitoring might be automatically done by instruments on the person, and then uploaded to a central location, for future analysis.

Another improvement is for a doctor to be able to diagnose a patient remotely. Or even to conduct surgery in this manner. The latter might be still fairly rare, however.

This book gives the reader a thorough overview of what telemedicine is and what is can be. It is written for both the medical professional and the public with new insights into how technology WILL affect our future. This is a book that will help readers educate themselves about the future of their medical care and prove to be a valuable resource for those looking for hard to find information.

The most important step before buying a book is to look at the table of content, which I could not trace. Thank you.

Excuse me, I understood that I would have the possibility to see the list of contents of this book before buying it.

I consider that the editor's review it is not enough to know more about this book, especially in order to teach telemedicine basics at the University which is the first purpose.

I would appreciate it very much if you please be so kind to send to me more detailed information.

I was informed about this book through TIE web site.

Thank you very much.