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Introduction Around the globe, the advent of large-scale technology implementation in health care has begun. The terms telemedicine and telehealth are spreading across the globe as fast as the satellite communications systems can transmit them. Telemedicine has reached around the world and has helped to link all peoples together in the struggle to understand and treat disease and promote health. Telemedicine is not just a single technology. It is part of a greater process, and it has spawned the creation of a chain of care unlike any in history (Roine, Ohinmaa & Hailey, 2001). New health information technologies are introducing the world to the value of knowledge in the promotion of health and prevention of disease (Coile, 2000). Telemedicine has experienced a steady growth over the past decade as telecommunication technology has advanced and as costs have declined (Wooten, 2001). Patient care, medical research, medical education, and the administration of health services are beginning to undergo revolutionary changes as information technologies advance (Wallace, 2001). This paper is a discussion of the global trends related to telemedicine, the numerous impacts of telemedicine on the practice of nursing, both now and in the