# The Computer Revolution/Communication/Telecommunication

Telecommunications provide a means to communicate information, such as text, images, data, audio and video over long distances.

#### Telemedicine

Telemedicine provides interactive healthcare by utilizing the ability of computer networks to transmit medical information from one site to another via electronic communication in order to help improve patients' health status when traditional face-to-face consultations aren't an option. It assists patients who do not have access to certain care, and doctors from around the world can help or inform the existing physician in the area to that certain care. It can be a very helpful in an emergency case. Patients don’t have to wait for specialists to get an opinion and treatment. They can get immediate attention and treatment without any delay. It can help to save thousands of lives. In rural areas people are dying every day because they don’t get the right treatment at the right time. It is a cost effective alternative. People can’t visit the specialist because of their high fees and long waiting for appointment. They can get treatment through video conferencing. It is a two way communications between the patient and the physician or specialist. If the doctor is out of town for some reason the patient can still get treated through video- conferencing Also it makes patients feel more comfortable with nurses and can ask questions when need about any health concerns. Most often telemedicine allows patients to "visit" their physician live to receive immediate attention or to take medical images to be sent and analyzed by a physician. A few of the most common services include specialist referrals, patient consultations, remote patient monitoring as well as it facilitates medical education. This form of medicine is useful for patients and physicians living in rural communities or in remote locations where the nearest health clinic is hundreds of miles away. Telemedicine allows doctors or physicians to do video conferencing to communicate remotely and can discuss any situations they have about surgeries, medicine, and even previous patients that need transferring. A doctor can introduce his fellow physician about a new patient, if they have troubles with them, they can communicate the needs of the patients and what they could do to be better. Doctors can do diagnosing of patients who are in different areas of the world where they do not have time to visit. For example doctors can send pictures or vital statistics to the physicians located at that area to help them out. Health Information Technology and telemedicine is vastly expanding and will definitely a prominent factor in the field of medicine.
Telesurgery-is another great example of telemedicine. Surgeons use the robot to perform surgeries; they control the robot over the internet or another network. Normally it is a physician who controls the robot instead of the robot being controlled by itself. Telesurgery gives the doctors a huge advantage because robots can zoom into an area where the naked eye cannot see. It can better locate a disease or virus, can distinguish between a good or bad cell. This form of robot-assisted surgery is typically more precise, results in smaller incisions, and allows patients to recover faster, then after surgery done by the human surgeon. The reason it helps a patient recover faster is because robots are less prone to get infection. It helps out patients as well because surgeons can now do less cutting or drilling to arrive to its destined area. For example pg.265 ( do not have to break a rib cage to access the heart). This type of telemedicine has a great potential in future. Especially for astronauts, who may need medical assistance while exploring the space (trip to Mars and back takes approximately three years or more), during those three years an astronaut could get sick or injured and would need assistance from the Telesurgery to get better. Soldiers injured in war zones, and for many other individuals who live in rural or undeveloped areas. Even to this date, physicians and astronauts have been practicing using telesurgery underwater so they can perfect it and be ready to do telesurgery in pace. The use of robot –assisted units will without a doubt become necessary in the future, and will give surgeons and physicians the ability to perform surgeries in locations with limited or impossible access.
Reference: 13th Edition “Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow”-Deborah Morley, Charles S. Parker. Chapter 7, pg. 264.

### E Commerce Live Support

Many current business are now offering online chat support. You can visit a certain website, i.e. NewEgg or Dell, if you are just browsing or looking to purchase a specific product. You usually find a pop up window asking if you have any questions someone is live to type with. The online support is usually limited by certain hours or availability of personnel. The live support feature can be most useful to possibly find stocked items, answer general questions about services or product, or help process an order if you encounter any problems. Afterwards, depending on sites, you can have a transcript of the chat emailed to you for reference in the future or if any verification numbers might have been issued during.

## References

* ↑ Reference: 13th Edition “Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow”-Deborah Morley, Charles S. Parker. Chapter 7, pg. 264