ATSP’s indexed telemedicine report is designed to serve as a desktop reference for those whose professions bring them in contact with the telemedicine/telehealth industry—health care providers, telemedicine program administrators, hospital administrators, home health agencies, medical students and teaching faculty, legislators and policy makers, attorneys, health services researchers, consultants, government officials, etc.

Feedback from readers suggest the report is being used to identify new opportunities and potential collaborators, provide industry benchmarks, assist in grant writing, anticipate future industry trends, and enlighten telemedicine-related policy making and legislative processes.

Telemedicine service providers
Compare your systems, services and performance with 82 programs in 42 U.S. states. Identify potential collaborators, as well as competitors.

Health care organizations
Understand how telemedicine is being used, where, by whom and how often. Get an overview of programs that are likely to affect the health care market as public awareness and demand grows.

Equipment vendors, manufacturers
Have the data you need to more efficiently allocate marketing resources, whether your focus is on specific technologies, clinical services, medical specialties or geographic regions.

Telecommunications service providers
Identify the technologies in this emerging industry. The report details telco services and specific bandwidths being used, the size of telemedicine networks, the kinds of facilities participating, the clinical services offered, and the types of organizations administering the telemedicine initiatives. There is also information on costs of services, how those costs are shared among sites participating in a consult, and what kinds of media are being used to deliver them (e.g., telephone lines, broadband cable, satellite).

Home health agencies
Find out who is using telemedicine and what services they are providing to home-bound patients and their families. See how telemedicine offers new ways to provide services to your clients.

Obtain the data you need to prepare grant applications with a telemedicine or telecommunications component. Identify programs and areas where evaluation is needed.

Professional organizations
Provide your members with a valuable service by letting them know about the report. The report provides information on the eleven most active clinical specialties in telemedicine: mental health, cardiology, dermatology, orthopedics, ER/triage, neurology, radiology, home health, internal medicine, oncology and ophthalmology. Since nurses and physicians’ assistants play an important part in the telemedicine field, their professional organizations will want to alert them to this report.

Help your members understand the role telemedicine plays in health care and the implications for costs and staffing. Since most telemedicine programs are hospital-based, your members will want to know how the growth of telemedicine will affect them.

Consider how telemedicine and telehealth could provide benefits to your service area, expand your referral base, or provide more value to your community. Look at the potential roles a hospital might assume in a telemedicine network.

Government agencies
Assess the extent to which telemedicine and telehealth come under agency jurisdiction. Determine your role in addressing institutional barriers reported by programs.

Congressional Representatives
Stay informed about this new field, so you can represent the best health care interests of your constituencies: the elderly, children in school, rural residents, homebound patients, etc.

Get up to speed on the telemedicine industry. Get the background you need to evaluate legislation proposed to deal with issues raised by telemedicine: licensure, reimbursement, telecommunications, liability. Understand the role of telemedicine and telehealth in debates about telecommunications, the Universal Service Fund, next generation Internet.

Understand the kinds of activities taking place within the industry, so you can plan and engineer adequate bandwidth and capacity to accommodate telemedicine services. Anticipate the operational and infrastructure needs of your institution to take full advantage of participation in a network.

Attorneys
Have a useful reference document that will help identify key legal issues, collect evidence, develop a list of contacts and expert witnesses, etc.

Add the report to your growing collection on telecommunications and health-related issues affecting the legal profession.

Health insurance providers
Increase your competitive advantage by providing leadership in telemedicine reimbursement issues. Be prepared for the growing consumer demand for this medical service.

Anticipate trends and meet consumer and provider demand in the healthcare market. Telemedicine offers a means of managing risks by providing more specific, accurate information quickly, and has the potential to positively affect patient outcomes.

Healthcare consultants
Ensure state-of-the-art service by providing your clients with accurate information on industry trends and opportunities. Have the data you need for advising clients on information technologies, strategic planning, facilities planning and management, and operations and clinical resource management.

Provide your patrons with the fourth in a series of reports on the growth and history of the rapidly expanding telemedicine industry. Readers will include:

• Current and potential practitioners of telemedicine

• Academic departments deciding where to focus resources

• Researchers in information systems, informatics, science and technology and health care services

• Students exploring telemedicine as a career opportunity

• State government officials needing health care delivery and public health planning tools