Determinants in Stakeholder Opinions About Telemedicine in Palliative Care: A Scoping Review

Background: Telemedicine is growing, and its application in palliative medicine may facilitate patient care and solve the increasing pressures on hospital services in these pandemic times. Aim: The main objective of this review is to describe the current use of Telemedicine in palliative care and to assess stakeholders’ views on the initiatives implemented worldwide concerning digital service standards. Materials and methods: Articles published between 2010 and 2020 were identified by searching PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. We used Arksey and O’Malley’s five-step framework to delimit and guide initial search results. Results: The search identified 291 articles, of which 16 are included in this review. The selected studies were sufficiently detailed to allow their evaluation and to answer our research questions. In addition, Telemedicine was used for patient and caregiver support and professional education. Conclusions: The use of Telemedicine for patient and caregiver support and professional education. Telemedicine empowers patients and increases their functional capacity. The pressing need for implementing policies and ethical issues are some of the outstanding questions. In countries where a telemedicine project has been initiated, it is valued as a good option for continuity of care. Still, all involved would like face-to-face contact first, even if it is not mandatory.

 

Salvador Vergès, À., Cusí Sánchez, M. V., Bossio Grigera, P., Fàbrega Agulló, C., Gomes da Costa, F., Serra Trullàs, A., & García Abejas, A. Telemedicine and e-Health. Jul 2022.932-941 Telemedicine and e-Health. (2022). Vol. 28, no.7, pg. 932-941. http://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2021.0441.

Read the full article in the journal