Telehealth is a broad term used to encompass a vast range of services that contribute to the clinical setting including treatment, health education and counselling. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically increased the use of digital health, it has been around for decades and can be dated back to 1959.
Telehealth was originally used for clinicians to consult with each other but today, the advancement of technology has allowed patients to safely connect with doctors and healthcare professionals from the comfort of their own home.
How does it work?
Various methods may be used when providing healthcare through digital means.
- Live videos allow for synchronous audiovisual communication between the patients and the healthcare provider via any device which can connect to the internet.
- Mobile health may also be provided in the form of mobile apps. These may serve different purposes, from communicating with practitioners and accessing health records to apps that can help with mindfulness or sleep tracking.
- E-prescribing allows prescriptions to be filled in electronically
- The store and forward method is an asynchronous method of telehealth where videos and messages may be exchanged between the patient and the practitioner.
Who can benefit from Telehealth?
Practically anyone can benefit from this digital form of healthcare. However, the use of such means to provide healthcare is mostly beneficial to patients in marginalized, low-income or high-risk groups and communities, all of whom have particularly limited access to traditional healthcare.
While telehealth may have immense benefits for these groups, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they benefit from it in practice. This is because several challenges can prevent telehealth from reaching those who need it most. These include insurance permissions, licensing requirements and adequate internet connection.
Breaking ‘Traditional Health Care’ Barriers
Some of the biggest limiting factors of traditional healthcare include:
- Location: People living in Gozo, for example, have a harder time accessing certain healthcare services than those living in Malta. Transportation is often linked as a limiting factor within this population.
- Time: In addition to the challenge of physically getting to the appointment, including transportation and the time of the session itself, may pose a challenge for individuals who have a full-time job.
With the further introduction of Telehealth in Malta, the gaps in the current healthcare system may be bridged with digital alternatives. Problems of time commitment and transportation may be solved by giving access to telehealth from home. This may further increase attendance rates for individual therapy sessions as it removes the challenge of physically getting to the appointment. Telehealth can also speed up the diagnosis and treatment process as waitlists are reduced and individuals are connected directly to available providers in different areas.
However, the problem of accessibility may be encountered when providing such online services. In the geriatric population, service providers may be faced with reluctance by the patients to participate in online sessions whilst other communities, families might not have the resources necessary to participate.
Telehealth and COVID-19
During this pandemic, changes in the way healthcare is delivered were needed to reduce staff exposure to ill persons, preserve personal protective equipment (PPEs) and minimize the number of patients visiting local healthcare facilities. Telehealth services helped provide the necessary care to patients while minimizing the risk of transmission of the coronavirus.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth trends were increasing at a slow rate. However, since the outbreak of the virus in Malta back in March, telehealth access and promotion has drastically increased. This has also highlighted the importance of maintaining care at all cost to avoid negative consequences from delaying preventive, chronic or routine care.
Remote access to healthcare services has helped increase participation from patients who are medically or socially vulnerable and has also helped to maintain the patient-provider relationship at times where physical visits to clinics are not feasible.
What is the way forward for Telehealth?
There will always be concerns when providing such services however, we must adopt a positive attitude towards telehealth.
Telehealth has been shown to be effective, viable and favourable as a format for various forms of healthcare treatment. Still, we need clear laws and insurance regulations that make telehealth a viable choice for patients and practitioners alike.
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