Sapal Tachakra and Mary Dawood outline the range of technological applications offered by telemedicine

The prefix ‘tele’ means distance in Greek, and so telemedicine means delivering health care at a distance. Telemedicine has been practised at a distance for centuries, for instance, a physician assessing a plague patient across a river; but it is only lately with the development of electronic communication that the practice has burgeoned. Electronic telemedicine started with telegraphy in the mid 19th century and was followed by telephony and radio communication which have been skillfully practised for many years.