Over 40 years old, telemedicine is a technological approach through which a healthcare provider can divulge health information from one location to their patients in another location. Using electronic-based communication, telemedicine implements multiple applications and services through two-video, email, smartphones, and wireless tools in addition to other forms of technology. Telemedicine was first demonstrated in hospitals as patients were treated by physicians from remote locations. Technologically based care had gained popularity due to its success and is now growing as a normal part of the medical community. The use of telemedicine can be found at hospitals, specialty departments, home health agencies, and private physician offices.

One might think that telemedicine is a separate type of care compared to in-person clinical care. On the contrary, there is not a difference in fees or billing coding between services provided in a clinical setting or remotely. The term telemedicine, however, according to the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) is compatible with the term telehealth representing a wide spectrum of remote healthcare. Included in these categories patients receive clinical services via video conferencing, still images, e-health, remote observation of vital signs, medical education, and nursing call centers, just to name a few.

More specifically, a few examples of services patients can obtain from telemedicine include referrals for specialist care through interactive videos, transmission of diagnostic images and vital signs, health monitoring from home where devices remotely collect and transfer the data to an agency or a remote diagnostic testing facility (RDTF), health information for both group and individual online support, and continuing medical education for health professionals.