Telehealth In The Developing World

A new addition to the successful telehealth series,Telehealth in the Developing Worldaims to balance the relative lack of published information on successful telehealth solutions in the developing world.

In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care. In that report, the IOM Committee on Evaluating Clinical Applications of Telemedicine found telemedicine is similar in most respects to other technologies for which better evidence of effectiveness is also being demanded. Telemedicine, however, has some special characteristics-shared with information technologies generally-that warrant particular notice from evaluators and decision makers. Since that time, attention to telehealth has continued to grow in both the public and private sectors. Peer-reviewed journals and professional societies are devoted to telehealth, the federal government provides grant funding to promote the use of telehealth, and the private technology industry continues to develop new applications for telehealth. However, barriers remain to the use of telehealth modalities, including issues related to reimbursement, licensure, workforce, and costs. Also, some areas of telehealth have developed a stronger evidence base than others. The Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) sponsored the IOM in holding a workshop in Washington, DC, on August 8-9 2012, to examine how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. health care system. HRSA asked the IOM to focus on the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals and extend the reach of scarce resources while also emphasizing the quality and value in the delivery of health care services. This workshop summary discusses the evolution of telehealth since 1996, including the increasing role of the private sector, policies that have promoted or delayed the use of telehealth, and consumer acceptance of telehealth. The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Workshop Summary discusses the current evidence base for telehealth, including available data and gaps in data; discuss how technological developments, including mobile telehealth, electronic intensive care units, remote monitoring, social networking, and wearable devices, in conjunction with the push for electronic health records, is changing the delivery of health care in rural and urban environments. This report also summarizes actions that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can undertake to further the use of telehealth to improve health care outcomes while controlling costs in the current health care environment.

Telemedicine, which involves electronic communications and software, provides the same clinical services to patients without the requirement of an in-person visit. Essentially, this is considered remote healthcare. Though telemedicine is not a new practice, it has become an increasingly popular form of healthcare delivery due to current events, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only are visits being moved onto virtual platforms, but additional materials and correspondence can remain in the digital sphere. Virtual lab results, digital imaging, medical diagnosis, and video consultations are just a few examples that encompass how telemedicine can be used for increased accessibility in healthcare delivery. With telemedicine being used in both the diagnosis and treatment of patients, technology in healthcare can be implemented at almost any phase of the patient experience. As healthcare delivery follows the digital shift, it is important to understand the technologies, benefits and challenges, and overall impacts of the remote healthcare experience. The Research Anthology on Telemedicine Efficacy, Adoption, and Impact on Healthcare Delivery presents the latest research on best practices for adopting telehealth into medical practices and its efficacy and solutions for the improvement of telemedicine, as well as addresses emerging challenges and opportunities, including issues such as securing patient data and providing healthcare accessibility to rural populations. Covering important themes that include doctor-patient relationships, tele-wound monitoring, and telemedicine regulations, this book is essential for healthcare professionals, doctors, medical students, academic and medical libraries, medical technologists, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the emerging technological developments and solutions within the field of telemedicine.

The need to promote academic activities in telehealth remains a high priority as the discipline expands into new areas of healthcare. Response during 2020 to the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an excellent example of the rapid diversification and impact attainable with telehealth, and may kindle a new momentum for accelerated service design and adoption processes in the future. This book, Telehealth Innovations in Remote Healthcare Services Delivery, is the tenth in the Global Telehealth series. Due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions placed on academic gatherings, the organizers issued a general call for contributions, with the intention of attracting a wide cross-section of contributions reflecting the breadth of different aspects of telehealth internationally. The resulting collection offers snapshots of research projects and studies of service experience from five continents, with an emphasis on delivering benefits in regional settings in keeping with the theme of the book’s title. Articles range from descriptions of telehealth networks and clinical-service instances such as cardiac health, mental health and pathology, several in Pacific-rim settings, to more generic papers on the evolution of such services, as well as commentaries on innovative considerations for telehealth such as the emergence of the concept of virtual care, the suitability of health apps, and the status of eHealth readiness in the developing world. This book is a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge on current telehealth research interests and trends, and will be of interest to all those working in the field.

Telemedicine and Mobile Surgery in Extreme Conditions: The Ecuadorian Experience -- Telemedicine in the Indian Context: An Overview -- Telehealth: The Backbone of Healthcare Financing -- VII. New Frontiers for Telemedicine Applications -- Telepresence and Telemedicine in Trauma and Emergency Care Management -- Telepresence and Telementoring in Surgery -- Medical Care from Space: Telemedicine -- VIII. New Initiatives in Virtual Education -- The French Language Virtual Medical University -- Creating A Virtual Sanctuary for Scholars -- Epilogue -- Author Information -- Author Index

Telemedicine networks to support healthcare workers in resource-limited settings (often for humanitarian purposes) have evolved over the last decade or so in a largely autonomous way. Communication between them has been informal and relatively limited in scope. This situation could be improved by developing a comprehensive approach to the collection and dissemination of information. A recent review identified seven telemedicine networks, each of which had been in operation for at least five years and which provided store-and-forward telemedicine services to doctors in low- and middle-income countries. These networks provide clinically useful services and improved healthcare access. However, like much of telemedicine, the formal evidence for their cost-effectiveness remains weak. Topics of current research interest therefore include the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine in resource-limited settings. Outcomes data (and methods for gathering it) such as patient quality of life following a telemedicine episode, the knowledge-gain of healthcare staff involved in telemedicine, and staff recruitment and retention in rural areas are also of interest. Finally, there is little published information about the performance of these telemedicine networks (and methods for measuring it), about how best to manage them, and about how to share resources between them. A collection of articles reporting the current evidence supporting the use of telemedicine in resource-limited settings would build the evidence base and should provide a focus for future research. It would also serve to raise the profile of this potentially important research field.

This book presents a replicable model of multidisciplinary teleconsultation, designed and set up by Global Health Telemedicine, that offers very significant health benefits in remote and rural areas of developing countries. The model is based on experiences gained in sub-Saharan Africa while training and cooperating with local health professionals within the DREAM program, managed by the Community of Sant’Egidio. This program has to date treated almost 300,000 patients across many countries and has provided health education and disease prevention training to tens of millions. It originated in the context of the fight against AIDS but has been extended to encompass other pathologies and to exploit the capabilities of new telemedicine technologies that allow multispecialist teleconsultation (hence the acronym now represents “Disease Relief through Excellent and Advanced Means”). In addition to thorough description of the program, readers will find reflections and analysis on logistical, technical, sociological, and epidemiological issues. The book is divided into thematic chapters with easy-to-understand graphics. It will be a readily accessible source of information for professionals in international cooperation and global health students and professionals.

Innovations in providing vital health care in homes and remote areas could ultimately change the way society views the health care markets and services in the future. Telehealth systems promise innovations that can extend a hospital’s knowledge and resources, connecting with patients who may not be able to otherwise receive services. Telehealth Network for Hospital Services: New Methodologies carefully focuses on and describes different networks that link hospitals and their services to patients outside their territory. This reference work not only focuses on the technology that is integral to the function of a telehealth network, but also its users, and the collaboration that is necessary to be successful. Researchers, practitioners, and health professionals interested in understanding health markets and organizations, as well as the innovative technologies that help them function, will greatly benefit from this publication.