TeleMed & eHealth '09

What is Telemedicine and eHealth?

High quality health care delivery depends critically on patients and professionals having access to the best possible information relating to their clinical conditions. This can involve:

• decision support to assist health care professionals provide the best evidence based care for the management of patients with diabetes
  
  
• development of devices to enable patients with disabling conditions (such as stroke, obstructive airways disease and dementia) to continue to live independently in their own homes
  
  
• evaluating the success of videoconferencing in enabling clinicians in different places to work effectively as a team. An example of this would be in the management of patients with cancer

How does the RSM Telemedicine and eHealth Forum work?

The Royal Society of Medicine Telemedicine and eHealth Forum has the overall aim of promoting education and research into the development and application of all forms of information and communication technologies for the purposes of improving health care.

The Forum offers a range of educational initiatives, aiming to reach a highly targeted audience of clinicians (including doctors, nurses and psychologists) as well as healthcare commissioners and managers.

All of these groups are likely to be at the forefront of their field with an explicit involvement in the modernisation and innovation of health and social care services.

The Forum has a range of activities, including evening meetings, daytime symposia, and a major annual RSM Telemedicine eHealth conference, which includes international speakers and attracts between 200 and 300 delegates from the UK and overseas.