The socio-economic impact of telehealth: A systematic review
We reviewed the socio-economic impact of telehealth, focusing on nine main areas: paediatrics, geriatrics, First Nations (i.e. indigenous peoples), home care, mental health, radiology, renal dialysis, rural/remote health services and rehabilitation. A systematic search led to the identification of 4...
| Published in: | Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publications
2003
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1258/135763303771005207 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1258/135763303771005207 |
| Summary: | We reviewed the socio-economic impact of telehealth, focusing on nine main areas: paediatrics, geriatrics, First Nations (i.e. indigenous peoples), home care, mental health, radiology, renal dialysis, rural/remote health services and rehabilitation. A systematic search led to the identification of 4646 citations or abstracts; from these, 306 sources were analysed. A central finding was that telehealth studies to date have not used socioeconomic indicators consistently. However, specific telehealth applications have been shown to offer significant socio-economic benefit, to patients and families, health-care providers and the health-care system. The main benefits identified were: increased access to health services, cost-effectiveness, enhanced educational opportunities, improved health outcomes, better quality of care, better quality of life and enhanced social support. Although the review found a number of areas of socio-economic benefit, there is the continuing problem of limited generalizability. |
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