Abstract

HILLAN GARCIA, L.; SETIEN DODERO, F.  and  DEL REAL COLOMO, A.. The Military Telemedicine System in Spain: a historical approach. Sanid. Mil. [online]. 2014, vol.70, n.2, pp.121-131. ISSN 1887-8571.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1887-85712014000200010.

Telemedicine is a modern discipline with just half a century whose evolution and impact is being truly relevant. In Spain, the origins of telemedicine must be sought in the first radio-medical consultations provided for ships at sea in the late 20s. But, it would pass several decades until 1996 when the first telemedicine service in Spain opened establishing a video conferencing session via Inmarsat satellite from Telemedicine Unit Military Hospital "Gómez Ulla" in Madrid (Spain) to the medical detachment's service deployed to Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina). It starts, since then, an important projection of telemedicine in Spain, and especially in the Military Health System, to build the background of, what is today, the Spanish Ministry of Defence's Telemedicine System. This pioneering Telemedicine System has kept at the forefront of new developments in telemedicine, becoming an international leader in this field. That's why, in this article, we approach the history of military telemedicine in Spain, putting the accent in its Telemedicine System, to better understand the role of telemedicine in the Military Health System, its evolution, its limitations and strengths, as well as its new challenges and future prospects.

Keywords : Military medicine; Telemedicine/history; Telemedicine/trends; Telemedicine/organization & administration; Spain.

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