Advances in Telemedicine Guarantee Security and Continuity of Care

Prior to the advent of sophisticated technology, health travel posed difficulties for those patients who were concerned about maintaining continuity of care and confidentiality of their records. Although rudimentary telemedicine has existed for several decades, recent advances in security technology now allow medical tourists to receive high quality care without having to compromise any of their personal information.

Much of the improved security in telemedicine can be attributed to the development and use of encryption keys when exchanging information over the internet. These SSL keys often have a 128 bit or even 256 bit encryption method, which means that there are up to 256 individual variables that can each have permutations. It would take a super computer hundreds of thousands of years to simply print out the number of possible permutations, let alone actually try to ‘crack’ the code. Only the matching key can unlock the encryption. In the case of secure digital forensic imaging, this matching key is provided by the security company in the form of a long password and a unique email address. Only a qualified professional, such a nurse practitioner, can then view and open the files.

This level of security is absolutely necessary to protect the type of information that is being exchanged. Secure digital forensic imaging has been a particularly important advancement in the technological security of telemedicine. Although most forensic imaging files are usually associated with crimes, the security procedures developed to protect them have spread to other areas of telemedicine, altogether bolstering the level of protection of patient confidentiality.

Telemedicine is an incredibly valuable resource due to the intricate and immediate nature of what it can communicate. Being able to openly discuss a patient’s medical records with specialists 5,000 miles away in a videoconference, or having a look inside a patient by transmitting images from a remote video camera, or viewing complex diagnostic charts on one’s computer or over video, is all incredibly beneficial to both patients and doctors. However, security measures have to be taken to keep that same information confidential. Each patient is entitled to privacy and the knowledge that only qualified medical professionals are able to view his or her personal medical records.

Luckily, these improvements in technology have allowed for a happy medium between rigidly controlled data and accessibility. By harnessing the power and flexibility of the internet while simultaneously introducing rigorous procedures to ensure the security of the information being exchanged, telemedicine has created an opportunity for medical tourists to experience the full range of global health care. Medical professionals are particularly enthusiastic about the ease of use of telemedicine. The immediacy of telemedicine connects medical facilitators regardless of their geographic position, while the security protocols enable qualified professionals to provide their patients with uncompromised and informed quality care. As telemedicine has advanced both in sophistication and popularity, medical tourists benefit from being able to travel virtually anywhere in the world while retaining the high quality of care they are used to in their regular doctor’s office.