Is telemedicine a subset of medical informatics?

Informatics has a key characteristic of a new discipline in a technically t ransient environment-there is no universal definition of it. This is not su rprising, given its complex and diverse nature. In a broad sense informatic s is the interface between developing technologies and the decision science s, in particular clinical sciences. Telemedicine has no universally accepte d definition either. Telemedicine requires the use of electronic communicat ion networks for the transmission of information and data related to the di agnosis and treatment of, as well as education about, medical conditions. T he debate ensues over whether it is or is not a subset of medical informati cs. The care of the elderly diploma programme is a telemedicine project wit hin the department of family medicine at the University of Alberta; it is a distance learning programme directed towards educating and training physic ians in rural Alberta. This project provided us with the practical experien ce of addressing both informatics and telemedicine issues jointly.