Telemedicine
The power of telemedicine technologies to harness the capability of existing health care systems can help sustain the overall public health infrastructure. Telemedicine is "the delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease and injuries". Various innovations in remote medicine have demonstrated viability for monitoring chronic illness in cost-effective ways. Specifically, the European Commission noted that telemedicine could meet special needs of older adults, allowing them to live longer in their own homes, with more independence, and reduce the costs for inpatient care. For example, telemedicine devices that monitor chronic disease patients' vital signs (eg, blood pressure, weight, pulse oximetry) can cut health care costs and prevent hospitalizations.
Telemedicine platforms support interactive information sharing between patients and providers. Technologies such as smartphones and voice-over Internet protocol software applications (eg, Skype) can bridge geographic gaps between hard-to-reach chronic disease patients and their health care professionals. The Gary and Mary West Wireless Health Institute in San Diego, for instance, is developing wireless tools such as smart pills that can be monitored as patients swallow them. The SmartPill Corporation developed the first ambulatory diagnostic tool for gastrointestinal disorders, which uses sensors to measure pH, pressure, and temperature within the gastrointestinal tract (Figure). Another innovation, the iShoe, monitors how people walk and allows health practitioners to determine risk for falls. These types of interoperable, user-centered design features provide real-time information exchange between patients and providers, resulting in enhanced health communication where distance and access is a challenge.
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Figure.
SmartPill. The SmartPill Wireless Motility Capsule is an ingestible device that uses sensors to measure pH, pressure, and temperature from within the gastrointestinal tract and sends information wirelessly to a remote server for health care professionals to assess. Reprinted with permission of the SmartPill Corporation. Photo by Donna Coveney.