Open AccessDifferent applications of telemedicine - assessing the challenges, barriers, and opportunities- a narrative review
Author(s) -
Faria Jafarzadeh,
Faezeh Rahmani,
Farhad Azadmehr,
Mojgan Falaki,
Mahboubeh Nazari
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of family medicine and primary care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2278-7135
pISSN - 2249-4863
DOI - 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1638_21
Subject(s) - medicine , telemedicine , health sector , subject (documents) , narrative review , health technology , risk analysis (engineering) , management science , process management , health care , health services , computer science , business , economic growth , environmental health , intensive care medicine , population , library science , economics
Telemedicine (TLM) is a technique of telecommunication used to create, promote, or accelerate health services. Because of its societal significance, the current study attempted to demonstrate its essential applications in the health sector and the challenges, obstacles, and opportunities that lie ahead. Various studies and reports were received based on the subject of the current study, first using MeSH terms related to the subject in authentic and available international databases. After that, 30-related articles were selected based on the study criteria, and then the required results were extracted from the selected studies. The study results showed that TLM has a significant role in more than 13 major areas of health and treatment, and in most of these areas, it has made the relevant affairs easier for both patients and medical staff. Although TLM has many advantages, it still has obstacles and challenges requiring further studies to manage this technology better. Given the high importance of the TLM in the health sector in most countries worldwide, efforts are needed to promote this technology and remove the obstacles in front of it. Therefore, further evaluations of TLM efficiency in terms of economics, speed of action, effectiveness, and the provision of infrastructure are necessary to overcome the obstacles highlighted based on the results of these studies and improve the efficiency of using this technology.