Telemedicine did not arrive with the COVID-19 pandemic, its use has been evidenced since the 19th century and here I show you a timeline of its history.
The origins of telemedicine are absolutely linked to telecommunications and its ability to travel long distances, since the 19th century and the appearance of the telegraph, which was used to request medical supplies, communicate deaths and injuries, carry out medical consultations, among others. during the United States Civil War.
At the end of this century, with the creation of the telephone, which was massively accessed during the 20th century, doctors and patients used this medium to provide consultation and information exchange services.
Likewise, the exercise of telemedicine closest to what we know today occurred in 1924 through Radio News, where a television machine and microphone allowed contact with a doctor and the use of heart rate indicators and body temperature.
Already between 1950 and 1960 telemedicine began to be used to transmit videos, images and data, for example, at the University of Nebraska interactive telemedicine was used in the imaging area, with the aim of connecting patients from geographically remote areas, with doctors who were in urban areas.
The digital transmission of radiological images is configured as one of the first specialties in telemedicine, suffering a great boost thanks to NASA research programs.
Already in 1990, the first explosion of information is known, when the rise of the internet arrived, the first telemedicine revolution began, where services such as patient and caregiver education, transmission of medical images, clinical consultations through audio and video were included. in real time, monitoring of vital signs, among others.
In 1993, "telemedice" was indexed in Medline as a MESH term, initiating the second telemedicine revolution, which generated an explosion and exponential growth in research on the efficacy, validity, reliability, and feasibility of telemedicine.
Although, between 1993 and 2020, the countries sought to adopt telehealth programs that would be characterized by their interoperability, security in the handling of information and governance, with the aim of improving access and timeliness of care, where the Telemedicine is positioned as one of the most innovative solutions, emerging different specialties of telemedicine, the third revolution, takes place from the year 2020 with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interrupted in different clinical centers and in an almost absolute way the continuity of care, telemedicine once again shows a turning point towards growth, positioning itself as an effective and safe solution against the aspects of confinement, distance and travel difficulties.
Today, it is viewed as the medicine of the present and future, where digitally enabled human resources and multidimensional and continuous progress towards digital transformation in health are required.