From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-569492-541080
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (UPI) -- Several U.S. medical experts say
telemedicine needs to be a core component of healthcare reform.
The white paper, published online in Telemedicine and e-Health, argues
clinical medicine needs to include telemedicine -- the transferring of
medical information by telephone, the Internet or other networks to
facilitate consulting, chronic disease management and self-care -- to
help contain cost inflation and provide other benefits that would
greatly exceed the costs.
"While not a panacea, telemedicine offers significant opportunities to
address the issues of inequities in access to care, cost containment,
and quality enhancement," lead authors Rashid Bashshur of the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Gary Shannon of the University
of Kentucky in Lexington said in a statement.
"Telemedicine is the common element to make reform succeed," the
co-editor of the journal publishing the whitepaper Dr. Ronald Merrell
of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond said. "Telemedicine
involves stunning new technologies that go well beyond just using
electronic health records, which can ensure both quality care and cost
savings."