Telemedicine and iMedia bring assistance to rural settings

Imagine having to drive an hour and a half just to see a doctor. In an emergency, such a trip can make the difference between life and death. Instead, what if the doctor was able to communicate to his or her patient by videoconference. This research proposal considers the effect of telemedicine on the social norms of people’s lives, and future accessibility with the help of government funded broadband.

Key Questions:

• What is telemedicine?
• How is it being used in rural environments currently?
• What are the social and political impacts of telemedicine?

This theory will attempt to move telemedicine forward with the help of new media. For instance, is telemedicine important enough for the government to approve spending to bring broadband to rural areas?

Living in rural areas can potentially degrade the social life of an individual. What if going to the doctors once every three months is the only form of socialization these people encounter? If access to broadband Internet, and thus telemedicine, erases the need for travel, will these people encounter any other social opportunities?  Another social aspect to consider is the quality of treatment. With telemedicine, will patients continue to expect the same level of attention from their doctors?

The interactive part of this project will aim to inform audiences about telemedicine. The major aspect will be a website that users can click through at their own pace.

Animated diagrams, with simple text will allow for various users to understand the topic. If professional interviews are recorded, posting those to the website will allow users to interpret information for themselves with a little guidance from the author of the project. A blog, detailing the process of this project will link to the website.

Ideally, there would be an open discussion board for professionals to use to converse openly about the topic. Hopefully, this would generate new ideas between media and health experts.

Tags: theory proposal