Telehealth.

The word ‘Telehealth’ defines as the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration. Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.

Consulting a Patient.

In another words, telehealth is the remote exchange of the medical data between a patient at home and their clinician(s) to assist in diagnosis and monitoring typically used to support patients with Long Term Conditions, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Chronic Heart Failure (CHF), Diabetes and Epilepsy.

Also Telehealth encompasses a broad variety of technologies and tactics to deliver virtual medical, health, and education services. These include, but are not at all limited to:

·         Dentistry

·         Counseling

·         Physical and occupational therapy

·         Home health

·         Chronic disease monitoring and management

·         Disaster management

·         Consumer and professional education

Therefore telehealth is not a specific service, but a collection of means to enhance care and education delivery via the technologies of telecommunication.

Telehealth Equipment.

There is a wide range of telehealth equipment that can be used to develop a service package that is tailored to an individual’s health needs. Among other things it comprises of fixed or mobile home units to measure and monitor the vital signs parameters (and the answering of targeted questions) for clinical review at a remote location using phone lines or wireless technology.

Some telehealth tools.

Telehealth enables individuals to take more control over their own health, and becomes an intrinsic part of the individuals care pathway, with information about their health condition being monitored regularly to flag up issues before they become ‘care critical’. It works by monitoring vital signs, such as body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate and along with that blood pressure and transmitting the data, via a telephone line, or broadband, to a telehealth monitoring centre or a health care professional, where it is monitored against parameters set by the individual's clinician. Evidence that vital signs are outside of 'normal' parameters, which may indicate deterioration in health, instigates an appropriate response. 

Telehealth examples also include virtual home health care, where patients such as the chronically ill or the elderly may receive guidance in certain procedures while remaining at home. Telehealth has also made it easier for health care workers in remote field settings to obtain guidance from professionals elsewhere in diagnosis, care and referral of patients. Training can sometimes also be delivered via telehealth schemes or with related technologies such as eHealth, which make use of small computers and internet.

Benefits of Telehealth.

There are real benefits for both the patient and the clinician. The individual patient has more control and understanding of their long term health condition, and the clinicians utilizing telehealth as part of a care pathway can ensure that they are proactively involved in the ongoing well being of their patient, managing timely interventions and helping to improve their patient's quality of life.

Well-designed telehealth schemes can improve health care access and outcomes, particularly for chronic disease treatment and for vulnerable groups. Not only do they reduce demands on crowded facilities, but they also create cost savings and make the health sector more resilient.

A  patient is getting medical advice from his home.

Since remote communication and treatment of patients reduces the number of visits for health services, both transport-related emissions and emissions related to operational requirements are reduced. 

In addition, fewer space demands can potentially result in smaller health facilities, with concurrent reductions in construction materials, energy and water consumption, waste, and overall environmental impact.

Telehealth Modalities / Applications.

Telehealth encompasses four distinct domains of applications.  These are commonly known as:

1.      Live videoconferencing (synchronous):

Live videoconferencing with a pediatrician.

Live, two-way interaction (audiovisual link) between a person (patient, caregiver, or provider) and a provider using audiovisual telecommunications technology.  This type of service is also referred to as “real-time” and may serve as a substitute for an in-person encounter when it is not available. Live video can be used for both consultative and diagnostic and treatment services.

2.      Store-and-forward videoconferencing (asynchronous):

Pre-recorded digital x-ray images.

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 the medical data after it has been collected, and involve communication tools such as secure email. 

3.      Remote patient monitoring (RPM):

Remote Patient Monitoring.

Personal health and medical data collection from an individual in one location via electronic communication technologies, which is transmitted to a healthcare provider for review (sometimes via a data processing service) who may be in a different location and time for use in care and related support. This type of service allows a healthcare provider to continue to track healthcare data for a patient once released to home or a care facility, reducing readmission rates. 

4.      Mobile health (mHealth): (👈 Click to read the full article.)

mHealth.

Health care and public health practice and education supported by mobile communication devices such as cell phones, tablet computers, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance). The delivering information may include general educational information, targeted texts messages that promote healthy behaviors, and notifications about disease outbreaks.

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References:

• What is Telehealth? | Center for Connected Health Policy. 2018. What is Telehealth? | Center for Connected Health Policy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cchpca.org/what-is-telehealth. [Accessed 21 July 2018].
• mHealthIntelligence. 2018. Is There a Difference between Telemedicine and Telehealth?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://mhealthintelligence.com/features/is-there-a-difference-between-telemedicine-and-telehealth. [Accessed 21 July 2018].
• What is Telehealth?. 2018. What is Telehealth?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.tsa-voice.org.uk/consumer-services/what-is-telehealth. [Accessed 21 July 2018].
• What is telehealth? How is telehealth different from telemedicine? | HealthIT.gov. 2018. What is telehealth? How is telehealth different from telemedicine? | HealthIT.gov. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-telehealth-how-telehealth-different-telemedicine. [Accessed 21 July 2018].
• Telemedicine and Telehealth | HealthIT.gov. 2018. Telemedicine and Telehealth | HealthIT.gov. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.healthit.gov/topic/health-it-initiatives/telemedicine-and-telehealth. [Accessed 21 July 2018].
• World Health Organization. 2018. WHO | Telehealth. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.who.int/sustainable-development/health-sector/strategies/telehealth/en/. [Accessed 21 July 2018].