4 Big Tech Advances That Support Telemedicine

Wondering how healthcare providers are able to use telemedicine effectively to serve rural communities or anywhere else that there's a need? Read through this list of new technologies that have really brought telemedicine to the forefront as a way to revolutionize healthcare in America.

The Global Internet

It's sometimes hard to remember that the global Internet is really only a few decades old. Even back in the 1980s and early 1990s, all of the functionality that we now enjoy about being connected all over the world was only beginning to be fully built.

Now, all sorts of audio and video signals can be routed all over the globe using a robust and interconnected system of networks that we call the modern Internet. That helps telemedicine services to go where they are needed, without the installation of other use-specific equipment.

Modern EMRs and EHRs

Another aspect of technology for modern telemedicine is the Electronic Medical Record systems (EMR) and electronic health record systems (HER) that have emerged in the past 20 years as vital tools for providers. Much of a patient's medical chart is now digital, where it can be sent over the Internet or other networks, instead of relying on postal mail or fax technologies.

Big Data

Big data analytics is another helpful technological tool for telemedicine. It helps with certain kinds of clinical trials, lab work and other tasks, in order to get the right information from a larger field of data. Companies are figuring out how to use technologies like Apache Hadoop and other data handlers to get all of this information where it needs to go for clinical results.

Videoconferencing Tools

Along with the global Internet and the ability to shuttle information all over the world, there have been big advances in the frame rate and sample quality for both audio and video data. New formats and standards allow IP-connected services like Skype and many business-specific videoconferencing platforms to provide a higher density and higher resolution image, better quality audio and more, to facilitate different kinds of use such as telemedicine, where two parties interact in a kind of 'virtual' environment. When doctors and patients can see and hear each other better, telemedicine works better, and the services are more effective.

These are some of the big changes in today's tech world that make it possible for doctors to consult, diagnose and even treat patients from remote locations. Contact telemedicine services, such as TouchCare, to gain more information.