The virtual toxicology service: wearable head-mounted devices for medical toxicology.

Abstract

History of Telemedicine Although the Institute of Medicine (IOM) first defined telemedicine in 1996 as the use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates participants, the use of electronic communications technologies in medicine is not new [1]. In 1877, a group of physicians created a telephone exchange including local pharmacies in order to facilitate improved patient communications [2, 3]. In the 1970s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Lockheed Martin, and the Indian Health Services teamed together to create the Space Technology Applied to Rural Papago Advanced Health Care (STARPACH) program—a telemedicine initiative involving real time video, data and voice-over-microwave interaction to extend healthcare to a rural setting [4]. Over the past two decades, telemedical systems have successfully connected rural and community hospitals to large urban centers with subspecialty expertise. These initiatives have improved care for specific patient subgroups including those in nursing homes, dermatological complaints, and trauma [2, 5]. In particular, the specialties of neurology and dermatology have employed telemedicine to extend their reach in resource poor settings. Telestroke employs a controlled video camera and monitor screen for a remote neurologist to help diagnose and manage emergency department patients with stroke while static photo technology and emerging live video devices have helped a remote dermatologist complete dermatology consults remotely [6–9].