TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 pandemic and the great impulse to telemedicine
T2 - The basis of the WONCA Europe Statement on Telemedicine at the WHO Europe 70th Regional Meeting September 2020
AU - Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando
AU - Kurpas, Donata
AU - Vinker, Shlomo
AU - Sarkisova, Valentina
AU - Eleftheriou, Androulla
AU - Żakowicz, Anna
AU - Aarendonk, Diederik
AU - Ungan, Mehmet
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2021/12/13
Y1 - 2021/12/13
N2 - Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies to support the delivery of healthcare at a distance, guaranteeing patients healthcare by facilitating access where barriers exist; the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted worldwide interest in this field. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the main pros and cons of telemedicine, which serve as the basis of the WONCA Europe Statement at the WHO Europe 70th Regional Meeting on 14 September 2020. Pros of telemedicine include virtual healthcare at home, where patients receive support in certain conditions without leaving their houses. During a pandemic, it can be adopted to limit physical human interaction. Unfortunately, it can negatively affect the quality of the doctor-patient relationship, the quality of the physical examination, and the quality of care. Telemedicine requires effective infrastructure and robust investments to be feasible and effective.
AB - Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies to support the delivery of healthcare at a distance, guaranteeing patients healthcare by facilitating access where barriers exist; the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted worldwide interest in this field. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the main pros and cons of telemedicine, which serve as the basis of the WONCA Europe Statement at the WHO Europe 70th Regional Meeting on 14 September 2020. Pros of telemedicine include virtual healthcare at home, where patients receive support in certain conditions without leaving their houses. During a pandemic, it can be adopted to limit physical human interaction. Unfortunately, it can negatively affect the quality of the doctor-patient relationship, the quality of the physical examination, and the quality of care. Telemedicine requires effective infrastructure and robust investments to be feasible and effective.
KW - access to care
KW - rural health
KW - telemedicine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122522308&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1463423621000633
DO - 10.1017/S1463423621000633
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C2 - 34895388
AN - SCOPUS:85122522308
SN - 1463-4236
VL - 22
JO - Primary Health Care Research and Development
JF - Primary Health Care Research and Development
M1 - e65
ER -
