Telemedicine

‘Father of Telemedicine’ sees label disappearing

By Neil Versel

Just like digital/wireless/mobile health eventually will just be called “health,” telemedicine will soon just be another part of medicine.

So said Dr. Jay Sanders, widely known as the “Father of Telemedicine.” He’s been involved in the field since his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in the late 1960s.

“We’re going to get rid of the term ‘telemedicine,'” Sanders said in a video interview with MedCity News. Instead, remote care is going to become routine, which makes sense because the home is a better place for examining patients because clinics are sterile environments, according to Sanders.

Sanders recently was named a board member of Avizia, a telemedicine company based in Reston, Virginia. But his experience goes back decades; his biography is far too long to list here.

Two decades ago, he advised NASA on the medical necessities for a manned mission to Mars. He recommended a completely autonomous health system, since video transmissions would take too long in deep space. Now, consumerization is shifting some autonomy to patients.

Then, he envisioned a spacecraft laden with sensors and artificial intelligence. “That same technology, now 20 years later, is actually very real, and we can apply it,” Sanders said.