New telemedicine publication to be launched
A comprehensive reference book devoted to promoting the development of telemedicine throughout Europe will be launched in December 1998. The book entitled "European Telemedicine 1998/99" has been prepared by the European Health Telematics Observatory (EHTO), the British Royal Society of Medicine, and Kingston Publications Ltd. The publication will contribute to supporting and sustaining projects within the healthcare sector of the EU's Telematics Applications programme, and will be distributed to senior procurement executives and managers in hospitals, clinics and healthcare organisations. The main issues tackled in the book concern the employment of telematics solutions to provide isolated patients with quality healthcare. It comprises case studies and analysis covering the theory, practice and future of telemedicine, with special emphasis placed on the latest applications in advanced technology. The introduction of the publication contains two keynote articles written by representatives of the European Commission, DG XIII, giving an overview of the EU's RTD Framework Programmes and, more specifically, EU-funded telemedicine projects. The remaining sections of the publication deal with the following: - Theory of telemedicine: covering issues such as law, policy, security, and confidentiality; - Telemedical practice: covering aspects such as telephone services, mobile telemedicine, home monitoring and telephone services; - Education in telemedicine: covering aspects such as European teaching, satellite broadcasting, undergraduate teaching and computer software packages; - The future of telemedicine: covering aspects of telesurgery and mobile video.