The practice of medicine has advanced significantly from the bloodletting of the 18th century to a surgeon operating remotely through a robot from hundreds of miles away.1 Over the past decade, technology, and particularly telehealth, has become increasingly widespread in global health care delivery.2,3 Telehealth is a general term that describes the use of telecommunication technologies in support of clinical health care, education, and public health.4 Telehealth services include not only traditional video conferencing but also e-mail, remote patient monitoring devices, and even facsimile.5,6 Teleheath technology allows physicians and other providers to consult and assist with data interpretation and patient care regardless of geographic separation. For example, a specialty radiologist may read advanced imaging for a primary care physician in a remote area.
Wilson LS, Maeder AJ. Recent Directions in Telemedicine: Review of Trends in Research and Practice. Healthcare Informatics Research. 2015;21(4):213.
2.
Holt B, Faraklas I, Theurer L, Cochran A, Saffle JR. Telemedicine Use Among Burn Centers in the United States. Journal of Burn Care & Research. 2012;33(1):157–62.
3.
Moffatt JJ, Eley DS. The reported benefits of telehealth for rural Australians. Australian Health Review. 2010;34(3):276.
4.
Lutz BJ, Chumbler NR, Lyles T, Hoffman N, Kobb R. Testing a home-telehealth programme for US veterans recovering from stroke and their family caregivers. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2009;31(5):402–9.
5.
Hubley S, Lynch SB, Schneck C, Thomas M, Shore J. Review of key telepsychiatry outcomes. World Journal of Psychiatry. 2016;6(2):269.
6.
Minh CD, Shimizu S, Antoku Y, Torata N, Kudo K, Okamura K, et al. Emerging Technologies for Telemedicine. Korean Journal of Radiology. 2012;13(Suppl 1):S21.
7.
Demiris G, Oliver DP, Courtney KL. Ethical Considerations for the Utilization of Telehealth Technologies in Home and Hospice Care by the Nursing Profession. Nursing Administration Quarterly. 2006;30(1):56–66.
8.
Moghbeli F, Langarizadeh M, Ali A. Application of Ethics for Providing Telemedicine Services and Information Technology. Medical Archives. 2017;71(5):351.
9.
Park J, Erikson C, Han X, Iyer P. Are State Telehealth Policies Associated With The Use Of Telehealth Services Among Underserved Populations? Health Affairs. 2018;37(12):2060–8.
10.
LeRouge C, Garfield M. Crossing the Telemedicine Chasm: Have the U.S. Barriers to Widespread Adoption of Telemedicine Been Significantly Reduced? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 10(12):6472–84.
11.
Morony S, Weir K, Duncan G, Biggs J, Nutbeam D, Mccaffery KJ. Enhancing communication skills for telehealth: development and implementation of a Teach-Back intervention for a national maternal and child health helpline in Australia. BMC Health Services Research. 2018;18(1).
12.
Pathipati AS, Azad TD, Jethwani K. Telemedical Education: Training Digital Natives in Telemedicine. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 18(7):e193.
13.
Slovensky DJ, Malvey DM, Neigel AR. A model for mHealth skills training for clinicians: meeting the future now. mHealth. 2:24–24.
14.
Rutledge C, Kott K, Schweickert P, Poston R, Fowler C, Haney T. Telehealth and eHealth in nurse practitioner training: current perspectives. Advances in Medical Education and Practice. Volume 8:399–409.
15.
Figg WD, Smith EK, Price DK, English BC, Thurman PW, Steinberg SM, et al. Disclosing a Diagnosis of Cancer: Where and How Does It Occur? Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2010;28(22):3630–5.
Citation
Copyright
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
