The Unexpected 150-Year Journey: Exploring Long-Range Medical Treatment from Science Fiction to Telemedicine
In 1874, a surgeon in South Australia sent wound care instructions to a patient 2,000 kilometers away through telegraph. A few years later, in 1879, The Lancet medical journal published a letter suggesting the use of telephone to reduce unnecessary patient visits. These early instances of telemedicine, or “healing at a distance,” sparked the imagination…