远程医疗术语表

The common terms thrown around in discussions of telehealth and telemedicine are as fluid as the technology itself. We choose some of the more useful terms and descriptions here, in search of a shared language as Colorado moves deeper in to this brave new world.

远程医疗 – the delivery and exchange of health information, 教育, patient encounters and provider consultations through any technology other than traditional face-to-face office visits. Some evolving definitions of the word exclude older services delivered only by voice-over-phone connection, but most consider it to include all exchanges made that are not in-person.

Telemedicine, telepsychiatry and telemental health – Telemedicine refers to delivery and exchange of physical medicine through technology. 有趣的是, “telemedicine” was the semiofficial state government term for all telehealth services but was statutorily changed to “telehealth” in House Bill 15-1029. Telemental health is an emerging term meant to cover mental health access through technology, 是否通过客户预约视频链接, 电话咨询或其他方式. 远程精神病学是远程心理健康的一个分支, indicating the presence of a psychiatric MD and any accompanying prescription drug management or inpatient hospital requirements.

远程控制 – a more passive form of telehealth than a live video appointment. It often involves providing a homebound patient with tools to record and transmit important health information, 比如血压, 血糖水平或体重, 给中心案件经理.

Telehome保健 – home technology that is quickly moving beyond monitoring and straight to video visits using the consumer’s own smartphone, 平板电脑或带摄像头的台式电脑. The “visits” must be routed through the provider’s security or encryption systems for patient privacy.

网真 – using a robot camera or other remotely controlled health tool to make a diagnosis or assessment of a patient by long distance. See descriptions for telestroke programs elsewhere in this magazine.

Teledermatology -远程医疗发展最快的形式之一, thanks in part to cheap high-resolution cameras now ubiquitous on everyone’s smartphones and tablets. A remote dermatologist can ask for live video and suggest camera angles to the patient, or a health system can store images taken by patients and attached to emails for review by the provider at a convenient and efficient time.

实时 – usually refers to a live videoconference or link to patient, where the provider and patient can see each other and can interact nearly as they would in a face-to-face encounter.

延迟 – any delay in transmission of the picture or audio in a telehealth encounter. (Anyone who has Skyped on a bad connection has seen this phenomenon.) It can create awkward stepping on each other’s sentences or long pauses.

点对点远程医疗 – providers talking to each other over a video link, often for specialists to offer 教育 to general providers or consult on individual cases. This is commonly occurring now in specialties from renal to burn care, and expanding every month.

病人门户 – a secure internet sign-on that allows patients to contact their provider, 检查医疗检查和记录, access health 教育 materials and seek appointments. Most provider networks develop a patient portal before they move to full video appointments.

外围设备 – measurement or monitoring devices that plug into, 例如, 提供视频连接的平板电脑. 外围设备可以是听诊器, 血压袖带, 听力学工具或脉搏血氧计, 等.

远程医疗临床技术员(TCT) – a designated job category in the Department of Veterans Affairs with alternative titles in other provider organizations. The TCT works at the patient’s end of the telehealth link, 处理相机或其他技术, educating the patient and following the remote provider’s instructions to gather information, 其他职责.

转发 – uploading a patient record or a digital photo for a distant provider to review at another time. The technology is used often in dermatology and other specialties.

原始的网站 – the location of the patient when telehealth is used, whether at home using a smart device or in an office at a local primary or mental health clinic.

遥远的网站 – the location where the distant provider is housed and offering health information or treatment by remote means to the originating site.

This article was originally published in the Fall 2016 issue of Health Elevations.