Posted: April 29th, 2018

The Rise of Telehealth and Its Potential to Increase Access to Care, Especially in Underserved Communities

The Rise of Telehealth and Its Potential to Increase Access to Care, Especially in Underserved Communities

Telehealth is the use of information and communication technologies to deliver health care services remotely. It can include teleconsultations, telemonitoring, tele-education, teletriage, and telementoring. Telehealth has been widely adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to reduce the risk of infection for health care providers and patients, while maintaining continuity of care and quality of care. However, telehealth also has the potential to improve access to care for underserved populations beyond the pandemic, especially for those who face barriers such as geographic isolation, lack of transportation, limited availability of specialists, cultural or linguistic differences, or low health literacy.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), telehealth can help to deliver health care to all, especially for people living in remote areas and underserved communities (1). However, countries around the world have struggled to ensure routine use and long-term sustainable access to telemedicine services, even in those with the most robust health systems. In order to support countries in designing and implementing effective telemedicine programs, WHO has released a new resource that outlines practical steps and best practices for planning, budgeting, maintaining, and evaluating telemedicine interventions (1). The resource also highlights the importance of having a national digital health strategy that underpins all telemedicine initiatives and includes leadership, governance, infrastructure, legislation, policy, workforce, and services (1).

One of the areas where telehealth can have a significant impact is in the provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, which are often neglected or inaccessible for many people, especially women and girls. Telehealth can expand access to SRH services such as family planning, antenatal care, postnatal care, safe abortion, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, cervical cancer screening and treatment, and gender-based violence prevention and response (2). However, telehealth also poses some challenges and risks for SRH service delivery, such as privacy and confidentiality issues, quality assurance, informed consent, data security, ethical dilemmas, and potential harm or coercion (2). Therefore, telehealth interventions for SRH need to be carefully designed and monitored to ensure they are safe, effective, acceptable, and equitable for all users.

Another area where telehealth can improve access to care is in the management of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and obesity. These conditions are prevalent among underserved populations and increase the risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 (3). Telehealth can help patients with chronic diseases to monitor their symptoms, adhere to their treatment plans, receive education and counseling, and access timely support from their health care providers (4). Telehealth can also reduce costs and improve outcomes for patients with chronic diseases by reducing hospitalizations, emergency department visits, complications, and mortality (4). However, telehealth also requires adequate infrastructure, equipment, training, reimbursement policies,
and patient engagement to be successful (4).

In conclusion, telehealth is a promising tool that can increase access to care for underserved populations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. However,
telehealth also requires careful planning,
implementation,
evaluation,
and regulation
to ensure it is appropriate,
effective,
and sustainable
for different contexts
and populations.

Bibliography

(1) WHO issues consolidated guide to running effective telemedicine services. World Health Organization. 2022 Nov 10. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/10-11-2022-who-issues-new-guide-to-running-effective-telemedicine-services

(2) The Influence of Telehealth for Better Health Across Communities. McElroy JA,
Day TM,
Becevic M.
Prev Chronic Dis 2020;17:200254. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0254.htm

(3) COVID-19 and the Rise of Telehealth. Margolis Center for Health Policy. 2020 Apr 3. Available from: https://healthpolicy.duke.edu/covid-19-and-rise-telehealth

(4) Research roundup: How telehealth can be used to address population disparities. American Psychological Association Services Inc. 2020 Aug 25. Available from: https://www.apaservices.org/practice/ce/expert/telehealth-population-disparities

(5) Telehealth & COVID-19: Policy Considerations to Improve Access to Care During a Pandemic. UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Initiative. 2020 May 28. Available from: https://latino.ucla.edu/research/telehealth-covid-19-policy-considerations-to-improve-access-to-care/

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