Abstract
The technologic transformation of health care is far from a novel enterprise. Some have pointed to ancient Greece and the use of smoke and fire as advancing coordinated distant communication.1 While an intriguing origin that invites examination through the ages, this chapter will explore communication technology in healthcare (i.e., telehealth) within the current era. Such an exploration is predicated on the nature of progress as purposefully driving emerging technologies rather than the reverse (i.e., innovating for the sake of innovation). This critical distinction seeks to differentiate the transformative property of innovation from just the technologically possible. This chapter will distill a collection of clinical and program development experiences toward a suggested conceptualization of telehealth that may prove helpful to those seeking to engage technology in health care for themselves. In an effort to complement the insights found elsewhere in this publication, this chapter specifically considers the notion of remote “presence” or how technology has transformed the way individuals come together.
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Kim, T.J. (2010). Insights on Telehealth and Virtual Reality. In: Dewan, N., Luo, J., Lorenzi, N. (eds) Information Technology Essentials for Behavioral Health Clinicians. Health Informatics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-344-2_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-344-2_5
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