Termen '''Telemedicin''' innebär att ge medicinsk vård på distans. Termen består av det grekiska ordet τήλε (tele), som betyder avlägsen, och medicin. Telemedicin kan vara så enkelt som att två personer inom vården diskuterar ett fall över telefon eller så komplext som satellitteknologi och videokonferensutrustning för att genomföra en realtidskonsultation mellan medicinska specialister i två olika länder. Det kan också involvera användning av en obemannad robot [http://www.dlmag.com/1653/robot-successfully-completes-unassisted-heart-surgery.html].

Telemedicin hänförs generellt till användning av kommunikation och informationsteknologi för att ge klinisk vård.

Vård på distans (också kallad absentia vård), är en gammal praktik som ofta skedde via post; det har funnits en lång och framgångsrik historia av absentia hälsovård, vilken - tack vare modern kommunikationsteknologi - har övergått i vad vi känner till som modern telemedicin.

I sina tidiga manifestationer, använde afrikanska bybor röksignaler för att varna folk för att hålla sig borta från byn på grund av allvarlig sjukdom. I början av 1900-talet använde folk i avlägsna delar av Australien två-vägs radio driven av en dynamo och cykelpedaler för att kommunicera med Australiens Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Termerna e-hälsa och telehälsa är ibland felaktigt utbytta mot telemedicin. Likt termen "medicin" och "hälsovård", syftar telemedicin ofta bara på att ge kliniska tjänster medan telehälsa kan syfta på kliniska och icke-kliniska tjänster, som medicinsk utbildning, administration och forskning. Termen e-hälsa är ofta i Storbritannien och Europa använd som en paraplyterm som inkluderar telehälsa, elektroniska medicinska journaler och andra komponenter av hälso-IT.

Telemedicine is a rapidly developing application of clinical medicine where medical information is transferred via telephone, the Internet or other networks for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations.

Telemedicine may be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone, or as complex as using satellite technology and video-conferencing equipment to conduct a real-time consultation between medical specialists in two different countries.  Telemedicine generally refers to the use of communications and information technologies for the delivery of clinical care. 

(See photo from HELP telemedicine clinic)
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/HELP_Telemedicine_clinic_1.JPG/800px-HELP_Telemedicine_clinic_1.JPG]

Care at a distance (also called ''in absentia'' care), is an old practice which was often conducted via post; there has been a long and successful history of in absentia health care, which - thanks to modern communication technology - has metamorphosed into what we know as modern telemedicine.

In its early manifestations, African villagers used dynamo driven by a set of bicycle pedals, to communicate with the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.

The terms e-health and telehealth are at times wrongly interchanged with telemedicine. Like the terms "medicine" and "health care", telemedicine often refers only to the provision of clinical services while the term telehealth can refer to clinical and non-clinical services such as medical education, administration, and research.  The term e-health is often, particularly in the UK and Europe, used as an umbrella term that includes telehealth, electronic medical records, and other components of health IT.

==Types of telemedicine==
Telemedicine is practiced on the basis of two concepts: '''real time''' (synchronous) and '''store-and-forward''' (asynchronous). 

Real time telemedicine could be as simple as a telephone call or as complex as rehabilitation, cardiology, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, neurology, and pharmacy. 

Store-and-forward telemedicine involves acquiring medical data (like medical images, electronic form should be a component of this transfer.

Telemedicine is most beneficial for populations living in isolated communities and remote regions and is currently being applied in virtually all medical domains. Specialties that use telemedicine often use a "tele-" prefix; for example, telemedicine as applied by radiologists is called Teleradiology. Similarly telemedicine as applied by cardiologists is termed as telecardiology, etc.