Telemedicine Network

Technical Construction, Organizational Management and Application
Resource: Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (863 Program)

Telemedicine is a rising discipline which integrates Information & Communication Technology (ICT) into medicine. Its effect and significance is being recognized by the world. With the successful application in several military actions of American Army in the world, the value of military telemedicine's development to military logistic management has brought attention of every country. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has initiated telemedicine program since the early 1990s. In the mittle of 90s, PLA Department of Health organized tens of hospitals to apply point to point mode tele-consultation, which used PSTN links and videoconference systems. Valuable experiences and productions were gained from the above practice. At the beginning of 21st century, with the rapid development of ICT, PLA began to expand the telemedicine network to the entire army, utilizing the satellite communication and relevant technology. To enforce military logistic guarantee and provide medical service with high quality, PLA develops telemedicine program with strong effort. In recent years, PLA telemedicine network has shown great effects and produced significant benefit in military, social and economical aspects. This paper will introduce the PLA telemedicine work in three aspects: network construction, organizational management and medical application.