During the creation of this research question I thought about the importance of addressing the two main topics of my thesis: How telemedicine can benefit the American people, and finding out the necessary data and information which will silence the critics. Telemedicine is the use of video-chatting to connect a patient with their doctor, while they are both in different locations. As I became more knowledgeable on the topic of telemedicine, I slowly began to become a proponent of it. My initial perception was that it may just be an over-rated technology, but that thought was a fugacious occurrence. Soon I realized the tremendous advantages and benefits of telemedicine, especially to those who are traveling or simply cannot afford healthcare.

 As I came to learn more about it, the topic of telemedicine began to captivate me. I have always been a person who looks ahead, and likes to know as much as possible about the future and its innovations. The future of healthcare and its affordability is an important issue to me. The majority of individuals do not enjoy going to the doctor's office. It is time consuming, could lead to the spread of pathogens, and can be expensive. My uncle has a chronic auto-immune disorder that attacks his liver and pancreas. He has spent his fair share of time in doctors' offices as well as in hospital settings, more than anyone should have to. His doctors finally have found a course of treatment that is reasonably effective, although not perfect. I became interested in studying telemedicine because I desired to find a way for my uncle to spend less time in hospitals and because I am genuinely curious about the future of healthcare. 

For years I have seriously questioned our nation's healthcare system because we are behind prosperous countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom in terms of socialized medicine. It very difficult to pass that sort of legislation, especially with a Republican House and Senate. This further increased my interest in this topic because I believe that telemedicine is far less controversial than socialized healthcare, and provides a substantial quality of healthcare for a more inexpensive price. Most importantly, it is something that stands a better chance of gaining support among both political parties in the House and Senate. 

I am certainly a stakeholder in this topic. Telemedicine is a topic that can help an immediate family member of mine as well as create a less time consuming and more cost-effective way for my family and myself to receive healthcare. My family and I will be able to continue to maintain an excellent relationship with our physicians, but will not have to drive to see the doctor for a common cold. This is an excellent alternative because of the time constraints in our lives.

Initially I was vehemently opposed to telemedicine and did not want to see its incorporation into healthcare. After reading about the topic, I became a supporter of it, because I realized that it would be optional for patients to use and not a mandatory form of healthcare.  I know that I will provide an impartial and objective description of telemedicine in my paper because I understand both its advantages and disadvantages. I will do this by referring directly to facts that have been compiled through extensive research, while refraining from the personal opinions of others. I do not know the extent to which it is being used in healthcare clinics and hospitals today. I also need to gather more statistics and find out more information regarding the cost of the implementation of telemedicine. Lastly, I need to look into the cost of telemedicine itself in comparison to the cost of an in person visit, while also checking to make sure that there will always be an option to see the doctor in person. It is my goal to discover if telemedicine is really a good idea, or just another form of technology with little added value. 

With my argument, I hope to provide an objective message which conveys the true definition of telemedicine, while including studies regarding its use and the extent of its pervasiveness. Since this is an argumentative essay, I am required to take a side and convince my audience why my side is the correct one. I will discuss both the benefits and drawbacks of telemedicine in order to be impartial, but ultimately will be attempting to convey to my audience why telemedicine is the right choice for the future of healthcare in our country. My research question allows me to have a large amount of research to extrapolate data from, which will aid me in formulating an eight to ten-page research paper.

Agreements on the topic of telemedicine include the following: Its cost-effectiveness, its ease of implementation, and the convenience to patients. These topics are backed by a multitude of information in my sources, and are the most common agreements. In terms of disagreements on the topic of telemedicine, the following are pertinent: Lack of an emotional bond with the physician, missed diagnosis, and incredible reliance on technology. All of these issues are remarkably important and are the largest obstacles for the emerging telemedicine industry to overcome. I would like my thesis to read something along the lines of "Telemedicine is an emerging industry in healthcare that has tremendous benefits and is supported by scientifically proven data, which is powerful enough to silence even the most ardent critics." I feel as though on a ten-point scale, this thesis registers a "seven" on scope, an "eight" on complexity, and a "nine" in terms of its level of controversy.
