The transfer and use of medical information via electronic communications
media. Such media include telephones, fax machines, interactive video, e-mail,
and instant electronic monitoring. Offering healthcare services with the
assistance of electronic media offers a number of advantages including:
providing specialty care to underserved rural and urban populations,
alleviating transportation hardships and costs, and new possibilities for
continuing education. However, there are potential drawbacks and liabilities,
including: determining which set of professional standards apply when
treatment/diagnosis is conducted from multiple locations, privacy issues, and
questions concerning establishment of a professional relationship. (E.g., does
a remote, electronic encounter establish one?)