In the early 1990s, while practicing oncology at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, Dr. Ace Allen began using telemedicine in lieu of flying hundreds of miles in a two-seater to attend clinics in western Kansas. From that practical interest in distance medicine, Allen began publishing “The Telemedicine Newsletter,” a free, 4-page flier distributed to a small group of university-based professionals interested in this new technology.

Renamed Telemedicine Today in 1994, the newsletter became a quarterly publication and then a bimonthly magazine focused on the medical crossroads “Where healthcare and technology converge.” Each issue is currently distributed to approximately 10,000 readers, including subscribers and qualified telemedicine professionals, conferees and others.

The Telemedicine Buyer’s Guide, first published in March 1996 with a circulation of 20,000, is regarded by those in the field as the single most essential resource in the telemedicine industry. The 2000 Buyer’s Guide & Directory was distributed to 30,000 physicians, hospitals and managed care administrators, health officials, government officials, information officers, consultants, investors, and vendors, among others.

Telemedicine Today’s website is #1 on Infoseek and #2 on Alta Vista (for the search term “telemedicine”) and is a winner of the Hardin MD Award and a Top Rated MedExplorer site. It is a strong pull for magazine subscription samplers, 15% of which are outside the U.S. The Online Buyer’s Guide provides unique, comprehensive information for telemedicine products, services and advertisers.

In 2001, Telemedicine Today was purchased by B2B Media, specialists in niche magazine publishing. Although the ownership has changed, the commitment of the magazine to being the pre-eminent vehicle for information on distance healthcare has not. As telemedikcine becomes a part of routine medical practice, Telemedicine Today will continue to report on trends, strategies, and specialty applications for implementing distance healthcare throughout the healthcare continuum.