Connecting the World of Healthcare Virtually: A Scoping Review on Virtual Care Delivery

Abstract

Virtual care extends beyond the walls of healthcare organizations to provide care at a distance. Although virtual care cannot be regarded as a solution for all health-related inquiries, it provides another care delivery channel for specific patient populations with appointments that do not require in-person physical examinations or procedures. A scoping review was conducted to define the meaning of virtual care, understand how virtual care has influenced the healthcare industry and is being expanded to complement the existing healthcare system, and describe the outcomes of using virtual care for patients and providers. Findings from the scoping review suggest that virtual care encompasses the provision of care using advanced video conferencing technology to support remote care that takes place between patients and providers and the use of virtual reality technology to simulate care environments. Some of virtual care’s use in healthcare includes application to pain and anxiety management, virtual consultations and follow-up visits, rehabilitation and therapy services, outpatient clinics, and emergency services. Lastly, from a provider and patient perspective, while both saw benefits of virtual care and scored the service relatively high on satisfaction after using virtual care, the greatest barrier to using virtual care may be technological challenges.

Reinventing virtual care: Bridging the healthcare system and citizen silos to create an integrated future

“…Recognizing this allows society to avoid unnecessary costs and duplication of technologies and services. 17 , 18 These considerations should be built into evidence-based procurement and technology selection processes for acquiring technologies that more effectively support virtual care. 19 …”

“…Recognizing this allows society to avoid unnecessary costs and duplication of technologies and services. 17,18 These considerations should be built into evidence-based procurement and technology selection processes for acquiring technologies that more effectively support virtual care. 19 In Canada, data are being collected by Canada Health Infoway to assess citizen accessibility, overall need for virtual care, care needs based on rural or remote settings, and scope of virtual care in Canada, including during the pandemic.…”

Nurses' experiences of person‐centred care planning using video‐conferencing

“…As an approach to conduct care‐planning meetings, video conferencing is now used increasingly often. A growing number of functions in the healthcare system are being performed digitally (Westerlund & Marklund, 2020 ) as video technology is employed in telemedicine technology (Baker & Stanley, 2018 ; Ignatowicz et al, 2019 ), teleconsultations (Diedrich & Dockweiler, 2021 ) and virtual care delivery (Li et al, 2021 ) such as pain management programs (Walumbe et al, 2021 ). Video technology can improve the efficiency of care and increase the access to specialist expertise (Nilsson et al, 2010 ).…”

The use of information technology applications in the provision of health care to a COVID-19 patients

“…With more than half a million cases of the epidemic reported in more than 200 countries around the world, as of the beginning of March of the year 2020. Due to the spread of the Corona epidemic, countries have closed their doors to their visitors, and its residents were advised to selfquarantine, which led to a change in its society, its economy, and the health care system [2]. This pandemic has led to great pressure on the health staff and increased the risk of infection of this staff with this epidemic as a result of infection from the infected, in addition to a severe shortage of medical resources.…”