Telemedicine: the next healthcare delivery medium: fad or future?

During the past two decades, advances in Information Technology (IT) particularly in database technologies, internet technologies and telecommunications have brought about a revolution in healthcare. These IT advances have enabled medical personnel to have round-the-clock access to clinical data irrespective of the geographic location of both medical personnel and clinical data. This in turn has led to the coming of age of a new medium of healthcare delivery -telemedicine. This paper explores the viability (in organisational, technological and financial terms) of the telemedicine concept. The main findings are as follows: (1) an analysis of the uptake of information and communication technologies within the healthcare sector indicates that, in the next 10-15 years, telemedicine is likely to emerge as an alternative medium for healthcare; (2) telemedicine will allow patients to carry out routine medical tests, reducing the number of visits to the physician and thereby reducing costs for routine consultations.