Telemedicine development trends analysis and barriers discussion
Zhang Kun
Tongren Hospital Management Co,.Ltd.
zkonline@hotmail.com
Abstract:
Telemedicine as the use of telecommunication technology for medical diagnosis and patient care has experienced more than one hundred years development. Telemedicine has been widely used in the world and have great impacts on various aspects of people’s life. During the years, telemedicine also faced various barriers, which had more or less negative effects on its development. This study is to identify the real history of telemedicine’s development, discussion the barriers to its development.
A great deal of literature was reviewed. Based on the volume of the literatures, the history of telemedicine was divided into three generations. The telemedicine history in China is shorter but the trend is similar to the world development. Before 1990s, telemedicine came into being and developed very slowly. From 1990 to 1998/1999, telemedicine experienced a dramatically rapid development period. After that, it came into a steady development period.
Some barriers to telemedicine were revealed. The non-technology barriers are mainly concerned with confidentiality, human factors in implementation, licensure barriers and reimbursement barrier. On the technique aspect, the lack of product complying with open, published technical standards is one of the main reasons for the slow uptake of information and communication technologies in healthcares.
Key Words: telemedicine, telehealth, barriers |
发表于 2004-8-31 08:20:06
发表于 2004-8-31 17:59:35