Telemedicine in Arab Countries: Innovation, Research Trends, and Way Forward

Abstract

Background: The progress and innovation in telemedicine within the Middle Eastern countries have not been heavily monitored. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the scholarly work conducted in the Arab world, using reproducible statistical and scientometric techniques.Methods: An electronic search of Web of Science (core database) had been conducted through use of an extensive search strategy comprising of keywords specific to the Arab region, EMRO countries, telehealth, medical conditions, and disorders. A total yield of 1,630 search results were processed, indexed through July 7, 2020. CiteSpace (5.7.R1, Drexel University, Pennsylvania, USA) is a Java-based application, a user-friendly tool for conducting scientometric analyses.Results: The present analyses found a lack of innovation in the field of digital health in the Arab countries. Many gaps in research were found in Arab countries, which will be discussed subsequently. Digital health research was clustered around themes of big data and artificial intelligence; a lack of progress was seen in telemedicine and digital health. Furthermore, only a small proportion of these publications had principal or corresponding authors from Arab countries. A clear disparity in digital health research in the Arab world was evident after comparing these insights with our previous investigation on telemedicine research in the global context.Conclusion: Telemedicine research is still in its infancy in the Middle Eastern countries. Recommendations include diversification of the research landscape and interdisciplinary collaborations in this area.

Introduction

“…A broad range of differences, e.g., in education, availability of healthcare facilities, and quality of life has been observed among Arab countries, despite sharing a common language and culture. The Arab world stretches across an array of natural resources, from prosperous countries to the poverty, conflicts, and famine afflicted countries [17]. The chief target for the Arab region's healthcare authorities must be to transcribe the existing knowledge into an efficient plan of action at a populationlevel.…”

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Prevalence and Perception of Telehealth Use in the Middle East and North Africa Region: Survey Study

“…To meet the increasing demand for telehealth within the region, a scale-up of telehealth capabilities and informational technology infrastructures is needed. Countries within the region should also start encouraging and investing in research initiatives to better understand patient preferences, the cost-effectiveness of such systems, and legal frameworks and policies [9]. Despite the high rates of telehealth adoption in the literature and uptake in our study, there is still skepticism about whether implementation was due to necessity or efficacy.…”

“…Studies regarding telehealth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are scarce. Those available have limitations such as nonrepresentative sampling, assessment of a single form of telehealth, and the use of data originating from market research funded by organizations with a financial interest in presenting telehealth optimally [9]. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of telehealth use via a single social media platform (Instagram) in March 2021 to determine telehealth use and user-perceived value before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Physicians’ Perspective of Telemedicine Regulating Guidelines and Ethical Aspects: A Saudi Experience

“…Unfortunately, if there is no clear definition or awareness of such authority, physicians might report these incidents to the regulating bodies of the SM platforms or applications in question, but in this case, effective action against this phenomenon might not be taken. Efforts should be made to establish more of such regulatory authorities, both nationally and internationally, and increase awareness of relevant proper guidelines and procedures among both physicians and healthcare consumers [ 18 , 19 ].…”

“…Currently, the bulk of the scientific literature on telemedicine use focuses on topics such as its usability, costeffectiveness [5,[10][11][12], platforms used, user characteristics [10,13], application challenges and facilitators [14], and patient and physician satisfaction [15][16][17]. When dedicating the search to the ethical and legal aspects of telemedicine, these were not as thoroughly covered, with a very limited assessment of related real-life experiences of healthcare practitioners, their perspectives and attitudes, particularly in Arab countries [18,19].…”