Current clinical status of telehealth in Korea: Categories, scientific basis, and obstacles

Hun Sung Kim, Hyunah Kim, Suehyun Lee, Kye Hwa Lee, Ju Han Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: Through telehealth, medical services have expanded beyond spatial boundaries and are now available in living spaces outside of hospitals. It can also contribute to patient medical knowledge improvement because patients can access their hospital records and data from home. However, concepts of telehealth are rather vague in Korea. Methods: We refer to several clinical reports to determine the current clinical status of and obstacles to telehealth in Korea. Results: Patients’ health conditions are now reported regularly to doctors remotely, and patients can receive varied assistance. Self-improvement based on minute details that are beyond medical staff’s reach is another possible benefit that may be realized with the help of a variety of medical equipment (sensors). The feasibility, clinical effect, and cost-benefit of telehealth have been verified by scientific evidence. Conclusions: Patients will be able to improve their treatment adherence by receiving help from various professionals, such as doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and sports therapists. This means that the actual treatment time per patient will increase as well. Ultimately, this will increase the quality of patients’ self-administration of care to impede disease progression and prevent complications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)244-250
Number of pages7
JournalHealthcare Informatics Research
Volume21
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Korean Society of Medical Informatics.

Keywords

  • Remote consultation
  • Telecommunications
  • Telemedicine

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