Why Telehealth?

With private or public telephones increasingly available in even the most remote locations, the telephone is remarkably reliable, inexpensive and highly interactive relative to other information mediums. No information medium can match the telephone network: personal, interactive, reliable, speedy, inexpensive, and easily used. 

The concept of telehealth, or using telecommunications to improve health, has been recognized by the World Health Organization as being a particularly significant trend in healthcare.  Speaking at the December 1997 Meeting of the World Health Organization, Dr. Fernando Antezana, Deputy Director-General of WHO ad interim, noted that "telehealth is understood to mean the integration of telecommunications systems into the practice of protecting and promoting health and...it must be acknowledged that telehealth corresponds closely to the international activities of WHO in the field of public health.  It covers education for health, public and community health, health systems development and epidemiology...." 

Target populations well served by telephonic programs include those with low literacy rates, people reliant on public programs, parents of young children, the aging and time-stressed upscale individuals. A recent study showed that for every $1 invested in a telephone-based health management program, $4.75 was saved through better self-selection and use of resources. [Source: Center for Corporate Health].