Innovations in providing vital health care in homes and remote areas could ultimately change the way society views the health care markets and services in the future. Telehealth systems promise innovations that can extend a hospital’s knowledge and resources, connecting with patients who may not be able to otherwise receive services. Telehealth Network for Hospital Services: New Methodologies carefully focuses on and describes different networks that link hospitals and their services to patients outside their territory. This reference work not only focuses on the technology that is integral to the function of a telehealth network, but also its users, and the collaboration that is necessary to be successful. Researchers, practitioners, and health professionals interested in understanding health markets and organizations, as well as the innovative technologies that help them function, will greatly benefit from this publication.

In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care. In that report, the IOM Committee on Evaluating Clinical Applications of Telemedicine found telemedicine is similar in most respects to other technologies for which better evidence of effectiveness is also being demanded. Telemedicine, however, has some special characteristics-shared with information technologies generally-that warrant particular notice from evaluators and decision makers. Since that time, attention to telehealth has continued to grow in both the public and private sectors. Peer-reviewed journals and professional societies are devoted to telehealth, the federal government provides grant funding to promote the use of telehealth, and the private technology industry continues to develop new applications for telehealth. However, barriers remain to the use of telehealth modalities, including issues related to reimbursement, licensure, workforce, and costs. Also, some areas of telehealth have developed a stronger evidence base than others. The Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) sponsored the IOM in holding a workshop in Washington, DC, on August 8-9 2012, to examine how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. health care system. HRSA asked the IOM to focus on the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals and extend the reach of scarce resources while also emphasizing the quality and value in the delivery of health care services. This workshop summary discusses the evolution of telehealth since 1996, including the increasing role of the private sector, policies that have promoted or delayed the use of telehealth, and consumer acceptance of telehealth. The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Workshop Summary discusses the current evidence base for telehealth, including available data and gaps in data; discuss how technological developments, including mobile telehealth, electronic intensive care units, remote monitoring, social networking, and wearable devices, in conjunction with the push for electronic health records, is changing the delivery of health care in rural and urban environments. This report also summarizes actions that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can undertake to further the use of telehealth to improve health care outcomes while controlling costs in the current health care environment.

Medical practitioners are continuing to advance their knowledge of the latest technologies in order to keep up with the opportunities for faster and more reliable treatments for patients. Advancing Medical Practice through Technology: Applications for Healthcare Delivery, Management, and Quality focuses on the latest medical practices through the utilization of technologies and innovative concepts. This book is an essential reference source for researchers, academics, and industry professionals interested in the latest advancements in the healthcare, biomedicine, and medical communications fields.

The growing presence of technology has created significant changes within the healthcare industry. With the ubiquity of these technologies, there is now an increasing need for more advanced legal procedures. Patent Law and Intellectual Property in the Medical Field is a pivotal reference source for the latest research in support of developing convergent and interoperable systems to increase awareness and applicability of legal aspects in the medical field. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as compulsory licensing, parallel importing, and protection law, this publication is an ideal resource for researchers, medical and law professionals, academics, graduate students, and practitioners engaged in medical practice.

Numerous studies suggest that people with a variety of health concerns are increasingly turning to online networks for social support. As a result, the number of online support communities has risen over the past two decades. Global Perspectives on Health Communication in the Age of Social Media is a critical scholarly resource that examines the illness and pain-and-suffering narrative of health communication. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as social networks, patient empowerment, and e-health, this book is geared towards professionals and researchers in health informatics as well as students, practitioners, clinicians, and academics.

Precise and flawless medical practice is imperative due to the delicate nature of patient lives and health. Without methods and technologies to detect medical mistakes, many lives would be compromised. Impact of Medical Errors and Malpractice on Health Economics, Quality, and Patient Safety is an essential reference source for the latest research on the detection and analysis of the various implications of medical errors and addresses the hidden malpractices that exist in healthcare systems globally. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics such as clinical pathways, decision-making techniques, and health information technology, this book is ideally designed for practitioners, professionals, and researchers seeking current research on various issues in healthcare provision.

Before the integration of expert systems in biomedical science, complex problems required human expertise to solve them through conventional procedural methods. Advancements in expert systems allow for knowledge to be extracted when no human expertise is available and increases productivity through quick diagnosis. Expert System Techniques in Biomedical Science Practice is an essential scholarly resource that contains innovative research on the methods by which an expert system is designed to solve complex problems through the automation of decision making through the use of if-then-else rules rather than conventional procedural methods. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as image processing, bio-signals, and cognitive AI, this book is a vital reference source for computer engineers, information technologists, biomedical engineers, data-processing specialists, medical professionals, and industrialists within the fields of biomedical engineering, pervasive computing, and natural language processing.