The Taxonomy of Telemedicine

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present a taxonomy for telemedicine. The field has markedly grown, with an increasing number of applications, a variety of technologies, and newly introduced terminology. A taxonomy would serve to bring conceptual clarity to this burgeoning set of alternatives to in-person healthcare delivery. The article starts with a brief discussion of the importance of taxonomy as an information management strategy to improve knowledge sharing, facilitate research and policy initiatives, and provide some guidance for the orderly development of telemedicine. We provide a conceptual context for the proliferation of related concepts, such as telehealth, e-health, and m-health, as well as a classification of the content of these concepts. Our main concern is to develop an explicit taxonomy of telemedicine and to demonstrate how it can be used to provide definitive information about the true effects of telemedicine in terms of cost, quality, and access. Taxonomy development and refinement is an iterative process. If this initial attempt at classification proves useful, subject matter experts could enhance the development and proliferation of telemedicine by testing, revising, and verifying this taxonomy.

Tele-monitoring of ventilator-dependent patients: a European Respiratory Society Statement

“…The components of the technological dimensions can be grouped into four variables: synchronicity, network design/configuration, connectivity and inter-operability [19].…”

M-health for maternal health- bridging the gaps!!

“…It has now emerged as a strategic approach or tool when designing maternal health research, programs and service delivery. 8 Health Information Systems (HIS) gather, aggregate, analyse and synthesize data from multiple sources to report on health; can include information related to patient records, disease surveillance, human resources, management of commodities, financial management, service delivery and other data needed for reporting and planning purposes.…”

“…[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] They have concluded that mobile technology can be used to enhance the delivery of maternal health services by improving a client's knowledge and self-efficacy, a provider's competence, accountability and effectiveness; and, a health system's ability to manage its commodities, equipment and health workers.…”

Asynchronous telemedicine applications in rehabilitation of acquired speech-language disorders in neurologic patients

“…We adopt the approach of Bashshur et al, 5 who provide a clear and concise multidimensional taxonomy for telemedicine. This taxonomy does justice to the variety of telemedicine, and helps to identify the precise nature of a specific application.…”

“…This taxonomy may help to better understand the implications for stakeholders in health care with regard to expansion of these innovative products for SL pathology. 5 We specifically focus on asynchronous telemedicine applications for dysarthria (ie, distorted speech production due to diminished force and coordination of speech muscles) 6 and aphasia (ie, distorted language understanding and production). …”