Implementation of tele visit healthcare services triggered by the COVID-19 emergency: the Trentino Province experience

Abstract

Aim In response to the SARS-CoV-2 emergency, the Competence Centre on digital health ‘TrentinoSalute4.0’ has developed TreC_Televisita, a tele visit solution that meets the needs of the Trentino healthcare system and maintains high-quality patient–doctor interactions while respecting social distancing. This paper highlights how ‘TreC_Televisita’ was integrated into the Trentino healthcare system and its potential to become a structural and durable solution for the future local healthcare service provisioning. Subject and methods This paper presents the multifactorial context that TreC_Televisita has faced for its implementation and the strategies adopted for its structural integration into the healthcare system. The analysis focuses on the main issues faced for the integration of the tele visits (e.g. privacy, payments) and how the context of TrentinoSalute4.0 permitted responding quickly to its implementation during the pandemic. It also describes how TreC_Televisita fits into the healthcare continuum from the organisational and technological standpoint, the end-user perspective and the barriers that could hamper the solution scalability. Results TreC_Televisita has demonstrated to be a technological solution that can be contextualised for different clinical domains beyond SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, it has shown its potential to scale up the solution beyond the COVID-19 emergency to the whole healthcare provisioning system in the long term. Conclusion Being a positive experience in the first months of its implementation, the long-term goal is to transform TreC_Televisita into a structural pillar of the Trentino healthcare system, setting the bases for a sustainable, win–win situation for all the stakeholders involved in healthcare service provisioning.

Smart City’s Internationalization and International Management Strategies in the Digital Era: A Systematic Literature Review

“…While these studies have demonstrated the effectiveness and positivity of remote monitoring in cardiology patients, the interpretation of the organisational phenomena that have accompanied these sudden transformations seems much more complex. Organisational resilience in these situations is one of the most difficult challenges in order to make the changes stable over time (Testa et al 2022).…”

Effectiveness of the use of various digital applications to promote public health in Indonesia: A study of the impact of technology on public health

“…The two assessments emphasize the weaknesses of digital health technology in public health. Significant barriers exist to its acceptance, scaling, and integration with healthcare systems and public health programs (Testa et al, 2022). Other factors to consider are the likelihood of measurement bias, particularly for racial and ethnic minority groups-bias caused by unvalidated AI algorithms-and equity concerns when deploying such technology among disproportionately impacted communities.…”