ABSTRACT
This chapter presents telehealth and discusses how telehealth impacts communications between healthcare professionals and their patients. Many of the telehealth impacts introduce limitations to the communications process; however, telehealth can also provide a number of potential benefits. The chapter describes examples of how telehealth has been used in the aerospace industry. A telehealth system can be divided into four different components. The four components are workstation and peripherals technology, such as workstation and peripherals; telecommunications link, such as the Internet and satellites; people, including clinicians and patients; and policies and protocols. The technology component of telehealth is the hardware, software, and peripheral devices that are used to perform telehealth activities. The cost of the telecommunications link is often a key factor in the sustainability of a telehealth network. Policies and protocols are vital to the long-term operations of a telehealth network.
