Benefits and drawbacks of telemedicine

Abstract

Telemedicine is a vast subject, but as yet there are limited data on the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of most telemedicine applications. As a result, objective information about the benefits and drawbacks of telemedicine is limited. This review is therefore based mainly on preliminary results, opinions and predictions. Many potential benefits of telemedicine can be envisaged, including: improved access to information; provision of care not previously deliverable; improved access to services and increasing care delivery; improved professional education; quality control of screening programmes; and reduced health-care costs. Although telemedicine clearly has a wide range of potential benefits, it also has some disadvantages. The main ones that can be envisaged are: a breakdown in the relationship between health professional and patient; a breakdown in the relationship between health professionals; issues concerning the quality of health information; and organizational and bureaucratic difficulties. On balance, the benefits of telemedicine are substantial, assuming that more research will reduce or eliminate the obvious drawbacks.

Ten Steps to Establishing an e-Consultation Service to Improve Access to Specialist Care

“…6 Telemedicine similarly has issues with physician synchronicity and has the added complication of requiring specialized equipment. 7 E-mail consultation is an obvious solution due to its simplicity and asynchronicity; however, serious privacy issues exist with sharing patient information over e-mail. 8 Electronic consultation (e-consultation) has been implemented in other jurisdictions with existing shared electronic health records such as in the United States and New Zealand.…”

Satisfacción del neurólogo y de los pacientes con diagnóstico de epilepsia en una consulta de seguimiento a través de telemedicina sincrónica en el Hospital San José de Arjona (Bolívar), 2014-2015

“…Desde sus inicios la telemedicina ha sido evaluada en varios aspectos, entre los cuales se destacan la satisfacción del cliente y el examinador, la eficacia y efectividad inherentes a la patología del paciente, aspectos técnicos, accesibilidad de los servicios y costos comparados con la consulta convencional o presencial (estándar de oro), los que muestran grandes diferencias en cuanto al efecto económico a mediano y largo plazo y su importancia debida a la oportunidad de consulta (7-10). Además, la telemedicina no ha mostrado mayores diferencias al compararla con la consulta en cuanto a la eficacia y demás desenlaces clínicos, siempre y cuando sea de gran calidad y cobertura (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16).…”

The use of email as a component of adult stammering therapy: a preliminary report

“…Access to services through the use of telehealth has been recognised as potentially quicker 12 and email-initiated referrals do remove the time required for a General yourself. I thought I should strike while the iron is hot and contact you.…”

“…12 Return travel from educational, work or home base to the clinic can become inconvenient for regular attendance. 15 Using email allows AWS to continue to access therapy services but without excessive disruption to their day, and as many email accounts can be accessed worldwide, clients can also remain in contact whilst working or travelling abroad 14 as this example demonstrates:…”