Telemedicine Barriers

Telemedicine is the use of health information technology to deliver health care from one location to another. It has the potential to increase the quality and access to health care and lower costs. From a technology standpoint, telemedicine is the application of telecommunications and computer technologies that are already in use. Technological barriers include instances where the use of technology is believed to not be sophisticated or sufficient enough to perform the task, uncertainty about the adequacy of a system to support clinical activities, ease of use, and concerns about patient confidentiality and privacy. In particular, quality of video images transmitted in telemedicine is a potentially major technological barrier. This would also include real-time continuous motion images when teleconsultations involve illness or injuries where range of motion is needed to make a diagnosis. Other potential barriers include provider education/training and the inconvenience of using telemedicine equipment (D. L. Paul). Technological barriers to telemedicine are having an impact on the telemedicine utilization rates and must be addressed. However, other barriers beyond technology, such as professional, legal, and financial, are still present with the use of telemedicine.

The number of internet users world-wide is 3.5 billion in 2016, up from 2.2 billion in the previous year. Around 40% of the world population has an internet connection today whereas in 1995, it was less than 1%. Mobile technology is on the rise and consumers are accustomed to having access at their fingertips. Despite consumer demand and technological advancements, widespread adoption of telemedicine has not been fully