Telemedicine: Sorting Out the Benefits and Obstacles

Telemedicine (TM)—providing health services and information via a telecommunications device to patients or colleagues separated by distance—holds the promise of improving access to care, diagnosis and assessment, patient monitoring, treatment adherence, and positive health outcomes. TM is still evolving, and numerous obstacles must be overcome before it reaches its full potential. Major obstacles include licensure and reimbursement issues along with the development of TM care standards. While many studies have addressed TM's effectiveness, findings, although positive, are tempered because of small sample size and other methodological problems. Successful TM is clinically driven where a need is first identified and then a TM solution fulfills that clinical need.