Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve patients' health status. Closely associated with telemedicine is the term "telehealth," which is often used to encompass a broader definition of remote healthcare that does not always involve clinical services. Videoconferencing, transmission of still images, e-health including patient portals, remote monitoring of vital signs, continuing medical education and nursing call centers are all considered part of telemedicine and telehealth.

Telemedicine is not a separate medical specialty. Products and services related to telemedicine are often part of a larger investment by health care institutions in either information technology or the delivery of clinical care. Even in the reimbursement fee structure, there is usually no distinction made between services provided on site and those provided through telemedicine and often no separate coding required for billing of remote services.

Below are links to reports and other information about telemedcine and telehealth. Other important information can be found in the "For the Media" and "SIGs & Chapters" sections of the website.

• Telemedicine Defined - A brief definition of telemedicine and its applications
• Telemedicine: A Brief Overview - A three page primer describing remote health care services as they exist today.
• Telemedicine Networks Map - ATA has been developing an inventory of existing medical center-based telemedicine networks. There are approximately 200 such networks operating in the United States, linking over 2,500 institutions nationwide. The type of services provided as well as network configuration varies considerably. These networks do not include many other categories of telemedicine such as medical call centers, home telehealth, remote monitoring or outsourced clinical services.
• Telemedicine Terminology - A guide to frequently used words in Telemedicine.
• Telehealth Resource Centers&Map - The purpose of the Telehealth Resource Centers (TRC) is to assist health care organizations, health care networks, and health care providers in the implementation of cost-effective telehealth programs to serve rural and medically underserved areas and populations.
• Telemedicine Guidelines and Technical Standards - References to existing guidelines and standards affecting the practice of telemedicine and transmission of signals with links to sites containing the full information.
• Medical Outsourcing (February 2006) - An article from the New England Journal of Medicine describes the use of telemedicine to outsource specialty services.
• Telemedicine Forms - A collection of various forms needed by providers of telemedicine services. Includes examples of informed consent/confidentiality forms as well as patient and provider evaluations
• Private Payer Reimbursement Information Directory - The purpose of this website is to provide a reference to support private payer reimbursement for telemedicine clinical consults. The information contained in this website is the result of a survey jointly sponsored by the American Telemedicine Association and AMD Telemedicine. The directory contains a listing of: 1) Telemedicine providers receiving private payer reimbursement; 2) Private payers providing reimbursement, and; 3) State legislation mandating private payer reimbursement of TM services
• Medicare Reimbursement for Telemedicine (December 2008) - A report from ATA on Medicare's reimbursement of Telemedicine
• JCAHO Clarifies Telemedicine Standard (February 2003) - An article in a newsletter published by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations provides an explanation of their standards on credentialing and privileging of telemedicine services.
• AMD's Design Center - Progam Primer: Successful Telemedicine Programs
• Telemedicine 101 - Basic information about telemedicine from the Telemedicine Information Exchange