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TeleHealth: A New Age in Health Care

Our society is going digital, from books to radio shows, and the medical community has no intentions of being left behind. ** Many branches of medicine are already exploring the possibility of having online interactions with their patients. Telehealth expands the population that can be served. People who do not have transportation to doctors or who live too far to come in for a visit can still communicate to their doctor's face, from their own home. Clearly doctors who need to physically be with their patient cannot utilize telehealth easily, but for professions such as psychiatry, telehealth is going to be an important part of their future.

Patient and clinician perceptions are an important part of telehealth. Guidelines to Evaluating Perceptions of Telehealth have been established, and are used to determine the effectiveness of telemedicine. These guidelines include technical, medical, and perceptual outcomes. Currently patient perception is one of the most studied aspects of telehealth.

Audiology professionals are pioneering successful telehealth through many studies focusing on it's effectiveness and feasibility. Another facet of telemedicine is record keeping, which is definitely going to be the future. Rather than requesting that doctors send forward your records through the mail, you will have access to your own records and be able to share them with any doctor at your leisure. [|Google Health] has pioneered online medical records, and their service is free to everyone. Google Health currently allows you to upload your medical records, enter your personal medical history, and even helps you find physicians. You can allow (and unallow) access to your Google Health profile to others who have set up their own profile.

//Geier, Mark R. 2, M. (2006). A Comparison of Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth and On-Site Consultations: A Pilot Study for Prenatal Genetic Counseling. // //Journal of Genetic Counseling // //, // //15 // //(3), 199-205. // //Coleman, J. (2005). Trials and Tribulations: A Small Pilot Telehealth Home Care Program for Medicare Patients. // //Geriatric Nursing // //<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; font-weight: normal;">, // <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; font-weight: normal;">26 // <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">(6), 343-346. // <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> L  ancaster, P. (2008). Remote Hearing Screenings via Telehealth in a Rural Elementary School. // American Journal of Audiology //, // 17 // (2), 114-122.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">SOURCES **

Krumm, M. (2007). Audiology telemedicine. Journal of Telemedicine & Telecare, 13(5), 224-229.

Ribera, J. (2005). Interjudge Reliability and Validation of Telehealth Applications of the Hearing in Noise Test. Seminars in Hearing, 26(1), 13-18