telemedicine

[tel-uh-med-uh-sin, -med-sin]

noun

1. the part of the telehealth system that uses internet and telecommunications technology, as video calls, to provide clinical services, as medical consultation, evaluation, and diagnosis, either in real time when the patient and the medical professional are in different locations or facilitated by remote monitoring and record sharing among healthcare providers.

   Rural patients may find that the only way for them to see a specialist is via telemedicine.

2. (loosely) telehealth.

telemedicine

/ ˈtɛlɪˌmɛdɪsɪn, -ˌmɛdsɪn /

noun

1. the treatment of disease or injury by consultation with a specialist in a distant place, esp by means of a computer or satellite link

Word History and Origins

Origin of telemedicine¹

First recorded in 1965–70; tele- ¹ + medicine

Example Sentences

Then the first set of AGs claimed that telemedicine abortions rendered them unable to enforce their laws, arguing that the FDA had created an interstate conflict.

From Slate

Although the states argue that telemedicine prescriptions are the real threat to their abortion bans, they can’t help themselves from making a maximalist ask: Should the FDA revoke its original approval of mifepristone from 2000, and should Comstock ban the mailing of abortion drugs?

From Slate

The states argue that the medication’s FDA approval should be revoked or, failing that, that telemedicine prescriptions should be once again banned.

From Slate

A single abortion-pill service, Aid Access, said that between July 2023 and August 2024, it prescribed nearly 100,000 sets of pills to people who lived in states that have banned the procedure or have banned telemedicine.

From Slate

Texas and Florida cite the SFP report in their legal filings to argue that states like them can’t enforce their abortion bans due to the FDA’s allowing of telemedicine prescriptions since 2021.

From Slate