Telemedicine and Tele-ICU in the United States

The definition of telemedicine is the use of information technologies and telecommunication for providing health care from a distance. It has been used for more than 40 years in the United States, and proved to be very effective. Recent studies have shown that implementing telemedicine in the intensive care unit may improve mortality, length of stay, complications and medical cost. We will introduce a proof of concept of implementing a tele-ICU and describe the necessary staff training, hardware, and software requirements.