History of Telemedicine: Evolution, Context, and Transformation

The History of Telemedicine provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the evolution of telemedicine from ancient Greece to the present time. It places the development of this field in the context of the never ending quest for providing equitable access to health care and re-casting the medical care landscape, while trying to assure quality and contain cost. The book describes the origin of modern telemedicine in experiments such as those by Willem Einthoven s 1905 long distance transfer of electrocardiograms through the pioneering era of teleradiology and telepsychiatry of the 1950s, its coming of age in the 1970s, its maturation in the 1990s, and finally the recent transformation and adoption by the mainstream. The authors delve into the rich history of telemedicine and tell the story from its genesis to the present time, reporting its continuity and evolution, its various adaptations, and the context that sustained interest and development in this modality of care and continues to guide its transformation into the future. The authors central theme throughout the book is telemedicine s potential role in improving human health.

. . . the book takes readers on a fascinating journey through the evolution, context, and transformation of telemedicine. History aficionados will thoroughly enjoy the initial section, which provides a series of stories about telecommunication in ancient times when, similar to today, societies struggled with ways to treat distant patients. --Stanley W. Borg, JAMA

Telemedicine has finally received the interesting and balanced historical recognition it deserves. Drs. Bashshur and Shannon have produced an excellent, exhaustive history of this method of delivering health care, from smoke signals in ancient Greece to today's instant computer communications, including stereo vision and haptics. The current state of the art of telemedicine is filled with impersonal high-tech devices and methods, but the authors never lose sight of the field's primary goal: to improve patient care and benefit the public health --Donald A.B. Lindberg, MD, Director, National Library of Medicine

As someone who thought he knew most of what had gone before, and how the field had matured, I found very early into this scholarly, incredibly well researched, and comprehensive manuscript how much more I needed to learn. This will now become my reference source and there is little doubt that it will be the Encyclopedia of Telemedicine. The authors create the feeling in the reader that telemedicine is not simply an enabling technology, but more of an umbilical cord of health information exchange. --Jay Sanders, MD, Global Telemedicine Group