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Executive Summary
The term telemedicine literally means "healing at a distance" through the Latin "medicus" and Greek "tele." While there is not one universally accepted definition of telehealth, generally it is the use of technology to deliver health care, health information, or health education from a distance. Telehealth has the potential to improve access to quality health care and services for underserved populations. As the growing interest of telehealth pervades the health care system, policymakers, associations, health care providers, patients, and insurers seek better solutions. Innovative telehealth programs for patients with chronic conditions, such as the University of Virginia Health System and the University of Mississippi Medical Center, have demonstrated very compelling results. For instance, within less than a year 116 patients enrolled in a diabetes pilot program reduced their hemoglobin A1C levels by 1 percent. These solutions seek to increase access, coordinate care, reduce health care spending, and improve health outcomes as our health care system struggles with a provider shortage. Through the increased use of telehealth it is possible that underserved urban populations can gain access to health services and education regarding the prevention and management of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure (HBP).
Telehealth Background
The United States' ongoing battle to slow health care's rising budget and ensure access to services creates urgency to utilize technology now; it is no longer a futuristic ideal. Here, the term telehealth will be used to include telemedicine (clinical services such as diagnosis and treatment of illness or injury, remote patient monitoring, and mobile health or mHealth) and eHealth, which is "the use of information and communication technologies for health." According to a 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) mHealth report, mHealth is a component of eHealth and no standardized definition of mHealth exists. Geographic disparities in access to care can be addressed partially using technologies that allow for remote audio, visual, and haptic communication between patients, caregivers, or health care providers that are not in the same site.
The use of technology in health care creates a growing complex industry. "Medicine in the twenty-first century is increasingly dependent on technology." A Pew research survey shows that from 2000 to 2015, there has been a 32 percent increase in American adults using the...