Personal Health Management Campaign: Lessons from Phase 2 Teleconsultation
Health self-management (disease monitoring, medication consumption, decision making, lifestyle modification) increases patient autonomy and sense of control over disease, and is considered one of the most important factors in ensuring prevention and health promotion.
People's Healthy Home (Healthy Report)
Background
Health self-management (disease monitoring, medication consumption, decision making, lifestyle modification) increases patient autonomy and sense of control over disease, and is considered one of the most important factors in ensuring prevention and health promotion. Digital health technologies are promising, patient-centered, and cost-effective tools that offer the possibility of patient self-management (e.g., improving disease monitoring, improving adherence, promoting healthy lifestyles, and improving health-related behaviors). TKD has been associated with health care accessibility and efficiency with significant improvements in independent living, adherence, and quality of life.
Healthcare
Health services via telehealth allow service providers to consult with patients remotely via electronic and telecommunications technology. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth services were generally only used in limited circumstances; however, in response to pandemic conditions, the need for telehealth services has increased due to quarantines, stay-at-home orders, and stay-at-home restrictions imposed to reduce COVID-19 exposure and community spread. Both the government and the private sector are introducing flexibility in telehealth policies, allowing for increased access to health services when traditional office visits are not possible.
Telehealth vs Telemedicine
Telehealth:
Definition: Telehealth is the exchange of health information between health practitioners and patients via electronic and telecommunications technologies (e.g., video conferencing, wireless communications, or image transmission) to address patient health problems remotely.
Coverage: Although sometimes referred to as telemedicine, telehealth covers a broader range of remote health services than telemedicine.
Services provided: Telehealth can be used to provide remote health services that are not clinical in nature, such as long-term home monitoring, health training or education, health information sharing, behavior modification, and timely feedback.
Telemedicine:
Definition: Telemedicine specializes in providing remote clinical services.
Service Focus: Telemedicine services are more focused on providing remote clinical services, such as diagnosis, medical consultation, and remote management of medical care.
Scope: Telemedicine focuses more on clinical and diagnostic aspects, and is generally used in the context of providing medical care remotely.
Telehealth
Telehealth allows healthcare providers to offer care to their patients primarily using electronic and telecommunications technology via computers, tablets, or telephones for information exchange between patients and providers as well as remote monitoring. When providing care via telehealth, healthcare providers use telecommunications technology to provide remote access to medical care, including assessment, diagnosis, and health information.
Telehealth allows healthcare providers to:
- Improve continuity of care
- Expanding access to care outside normal business hours
- Reduce travel burden on patients and providers
- Help address clinical workforce shortages, especially among rural and underserved populations
- Provide support for patients managing chronic health conditions
- Screens patients for symptoms of COVID-19 and refers as needed
- Enable patients who are vulnerable to COVID-19 to continue receiving medical care safely
- Helps stop the spread of infectious diseases.
Sources
Department of Health and Human. (2023). Telehealth for Providers: What You Need to Know.
Kalaitzaki, A., Rovithis, M., Dimitropoulos, A., Koukouli, S., Linardakis, M., Katsiri, E., … & Stavropoulou, A. (2023). Promoting self-management and independent living of older individuals with chronic diseases through technology: A study of self-reported needs, priorities, and preferences. Medicina, 59(8), 1493.
Shah, N. D., Hom, J., Ahuja, N., Hernandez-Boussard, T. (2023). Exploring fraud, waste and abuse within telehealth. Stanford Medicine.
