How many of you have struggled to explain to someone what telemedicine or telehealth is?  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in this world of TeleStroke, TelePsychiatry and Tele__ (fill in the blank) that we forget there are people out there that have no idea what we are talking about.  Most of my friends and family thought that I was going to work for the phone company when I started working in Telehealth 6 years ago.  I’ve gotten pretty good at explaining it I think, at least they smile and say”oh ok”a lot more than they used to.  If the person I’m talking to at least knows what video conferencing is it makes it a whole lot easier but a lot of times I think they walk away not really understanding how it can help them and impact their lives.  Now I’m talking about the general public here not providers.  That can be a whole other monster trying to get physician buy in.  I’ll be posting a video soon that talks about that, but for today I wanted to share with you this video that South Central TRC did recently.  It’s a pretty basic video but I think it explains Telehealth really well for those who don’t quite get it.  Here’s the link to Jennifer’s Story.

What are your thoughts?  How have you explained Telehealth to people?  Any funny stories out there?