Communications
Robust communications are an important part of the telemedicine system. An effective communication system has many interconnected parts as follows.
Robust Wide Area Network
The concept of telemedicine systems relies on communications to be fully utilized. Telemedicine allows patients consult with physicians remotely. To achieve this, the telemedicine system has to have robust IT networks connecting all the nodes from remote sites to centrally located large medical centers. This enables a cloud based system with all information being securely stored on the cloud. Physicians can retrieve patient information regardless of where they are or where the patient is.
Video Conferencing
A well designed Video conferencing system is vital for an effective telemedicine system. It allows a physician to visually consult with patients at remote sites. Furthermore, it also allows teams of specialists to jointly or severally consult patients.
Chat
This is a lower form of a remote consult. A chat can be set up where a physician can give advice. It is slower, but in some instances, when a video conference cannot be set up, it will suffice.