Journal of telemedicine and telecare
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Telemedicine developments are intimately linked to the society in which they occur. Some of the salient factors are: the structure of the health-care system, especially its funding arrangements and the relationship between hospital and community care; the telecommunications network environment and business developments in communications technology; geographic factors of distance and isolation; and government policy dealing with interacting sectors. These factors are all considered in this review of the background to telemedicine developments in Australia.