Telehealth
Telehealth is a collection of means or methods for enhancing health care, public health and health education delivery and support using telecommunications technologies. “Telemedicine” is often still used when referring to traditional clinical diagnosis and monitoring that is delivered by technology. However, the term “Telehealth” is now more commonly used as it describes the wide range of diagnosis and management, education, and other related fields of health care.
Telehealth is a catch-all term that includes a number of subcategories and specific types of technology and delivery methods. The four most common modalities of telehealth are:
Live videoconferencing visits: These appointments take place between a patient and provider using modern audiovisual telecommunications devices (like a camera-enabled computer).
2. Remote Patient Monitoring: Technology to enable monitoring of patients outside of conventional clinical settings, such as in the home or in a remote area, which may increase access to care and decrease health care delivery costs.
3. Store and Forward: Store-and-forward technologies allow for the electronic transmission of medical information, such as digital images, documents, and pre-recorded videos through secure email communication. Transmission of recorded health history (for example, pre-recorded videos and digital images such as x-rays and photos) through a secure electronic communications system to a practitioner, usually a specialist, who uses the information to evaluate the case or render a service outside of a real-time or live interaction. As compared to a real-time visit, this service provides access to data after it has been collected, and involve communication tools such as secure email. Technology to transmit clinical data between two medical providers, such as a primary care doctor and a specialist.
4. Mobile Health or mHealth: The use of mobile and wireless technologies, such as cell phones, tablet computers, PDAs, and associated software applications, to support the achievement of health objectives. This can range from targeted text messages that promote healthy behavior to wide-scale alerts about disease outbreaks.
Telehealth is widely recognized by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS), World Health Organization (WHO), American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as an evidence-based service delivery platform. It has continued to spread, and has allowed for increased access to numerous specialties that otherwise would not be available.