History of Telemedicine: Evolution, Context, and Transformation

cation technology, and have long-standing problem of improving human health in healthcare systems. The History of Telemedicine provides a comprehensive and in-depth historical view of telemedicine from ancient Greece to the present time. The authors started the task of writing the book with open mind and put aside whatever preconceived notion or information about telemedicine. Bashshur and Shannon really give historical insight to us on telemedicine. It would be a good guide and rationale for the telemedicine. Before authors began to trace and document the history of telemedicine, they reviewed the published literature. They clearly realized the storytelling of telemedicine, because telemedicine has a long and rich history and a story that has not been told, certainly not in its entirety. Two common characteristics were revealed after careful review of the history of telemedicine in the published literature. First, they tend to be very brief, often cursory or selective, sometimes limited to a couple of paragraphs, and are typically included as a prelude to another topic. Second, they are invariably simple accounts of early attempts to connect providers and patients through telecommunication devices available at that time. They wanted to be guided solely by the documented not by any preexisting ideas or notions, and therefore they were to minimize bias in reporting. The journey started with ancient societies and the early attempts to establish rudimentary communication connectivity between settlements when faced with internal or external threats and subsequently to establish clinical connectivity between patient and physician/caregiver/priest. Thus, throughout this book, authors emphasized the continuing underlying theme of connectivity between those in need of care and those who provide it. Authors traced the history of long-distance communication from its humble origins History of Telemedicine: Evolution, Context, and Transformation