TELEMEDICINE The Emergence of Technology in Healthcare Practices and the Resulting Implications on Patient Safety and Healthcare Efficiency

Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare and sharing of information relevant to healthcare across distances. It encompasses all facets of healthcare from evaluation and diagnosis to treatment and prevention. For example, a local health institute in Kingston, ON - Kingston Orthopedic Pain Institute (KOPI), has recently implemented a telemedicine sector into their services. The main concern with telemedicine is whether the same level of care can be provided without the physical interaction that meeting with a healthcare practitioner in person provides. The article addresses this issue.