• Title/Summary/Keyword: telehealth

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Legal Issues To Be Considered Before Implementing Telehealth in South Korea (원격진료 실시에 수반되는 법적 쟁점들에 대한 고찰)

  • Lee, Won Bok
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.57-90
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    • 2021
  • Telehealth has been a hotly debated health policy issue in South Korea, mostly because the medical community - especially primary care practitioners - have strongly opposed it. As a result, telehealth has remained forbidden under law. However, the temporary permission of telehealth in Korea, as well as its exploding use in other countries, all in response to COVID-19, is re-igniting the discussion on telehealth in Korea. This article explores general legal issues that may arise if and when telehealth is fully implemented in Korea. The article's analysis shows that legislative changes are necessary to allow reimbursement of telehealth as well as remote purchase of medicine. The article also advocates introducing new evidentiary rules to curtail covert recording of telehealth sessions. On the other hand, additional legislation is probably not necessary to address the medical liability of physicians practicing telehealth or to adress much-discussed privacy issues. The existing laws in those domains are already robust enough to operate without much difficulty in the context of telehealth too.

Telehealth for consultation and shoulder rehabilitation: a preliminary study on the perspectives of 30 patients during the COVID-19 lockdown

  • Sahu, Dipit;Rathod, Vaibhavi;Phadnis, Ashish;Bansal, Samarjit S.
    • Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.156-165
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    • 2021
  • Background: This study aimed to determine: the perspectives of the patient cohort that underwent telehealth consultation and shoulder rehabilitation during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the differences in the patients' perspectives with the two different telehealth video applications (apps) used in the study. Methods: This is a prospective study carried out during the COVID lockdown period of April to July 2020. Thirty consecutive patients from the orthopedics department of a tertiary institute in India underwent their first-ever session of a video app-based (Zoom or WhatsApp) telehealth consultation with shoulder rehabilitation exercises on a handheld mobile, tablet, or laptop device. After the virtual consultation, the patients were sent a validated telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ) to evaluate their perspectives. Scores obtained from the TUQ were the primary outcome measure. Results: The study was completed by 30 patients (16 men and 14 women) with an average age of 56 years (range, 20-77 years). The patients who contacted us during the lockdown period with either a stiff shoulder or a conservatively treated shoulder fracture were included in the study. The average TUQ score was 13.6 (median, 14.5; range, 6-21) out of a maximum of 21 points. Eighty percent of the patients were satisfied and found the telehealth service useful. Use of the Zoom app scored significantly higher (median, 17; average, 15.6) than the WhatsApp app (median, 8.5; average, 9.6) (p=0.004). Conclusions: Patients who received telehealth consultation and shoulder rehabilitation were overall satisfied. Telehealth apps with advanced video calling features such as Zoom should be preferred for higher patient satisfaction.

Structural Relationships Among Factors to Adoption of Telehealth Service (원격의료서비스 수용요인의 구조적 관계 실증연구)

  • Kim, Sung-Soo;Ryu, See-Won
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.71-96
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    • 2011
  • Within the traditional medical delivery system, patients residing in medically vulnerable areas, those with body movement difficulties, and nursing facility residents have had limited access to good healthcare services. However, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides us with a convenient and useful means of overcoming distance and time constraints. ICT is integrated with biomedical science and technology in a way that offers a new high-quality medical service. As a result, rapid technological advancement is expected to play a pivotal role bringing about innovation in a wide range of medical service areas, such as medical management, testing, diagnosis, and treatment; offering new and improved healthcare services; and effecting dramatic changes in current medical services. The increase in aging population and chronic diseases has caused an increase in medical expenses. In response to the increasing demand for efficient healthcare services, a telehealth service based on ICT is being emphasized on a global level. Telehealth services have been implemented especially in pilot projects and system development and technological research. With the service about to be implemented in earnest, it is necessary to study its overall acceptance by consumers, which is expected to contribute to the development and activation of a variety of services. In this sense, the study aims at positively examining the structural relationship among the acceptance factors for telehealth services based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data were collected by showing audiovisual material on telehealth services to online panels and requesting them to respond to a structured questionnaire sheet, which is known as the information acceleration method. Among the 1,165 adult respondents, 608 valid samples were finally chosen, while the remaining were excluded because of incomplete answers or allotted time overrun. In order to test the reliability and validity of the assessment scale items, we carried out reliability and factor analyses, and in order to explore the causal relation among potential variables, we conducted a structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 17.0. The research outcomes are as follows. First, service quality, innovativeness of medical technology, and social influence were shown to affect perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the telehealth service, which was statistically significant, and the two factors had a positive impact on willingness to accept the telehealth service. In addition, social influence had a direct, significant effect on intention to use, which is paralleled by the TAM used in previous research on technology acceptance. This shows that the research model proposed in the study effectively explains the acceptance of the telehealth service. Second, the research model reveals that information privacy concerns had a insignificant impact on perceived ease of use of the telehealth service. From this, it can be gathered that the concerns over information protection and security are reduced further due to advancements in information technology compared to the initial period in the information technology industry, and thus the improvement in quality of medical services appeared to ensure that information privacy concerns did not act as a prohibiting factor in the acceptance of the telehealth service. Thus, if other factors have an enormous impact on ease of use and usefulness, concerns over these results in the initial period of technology acceptance may become irrelevant. However, it is clear that users' information privacy concerns, as other studies have revealed, is a major factor affecting technology acceptance. Thus, caution must be exercised while interpreting the result, and further study is required on the issue. Numerous information technologies with outstanding performance and innovativeness often attract few consumers. A revised bill for those urgently in need of telehealth services is about to be approved in the national assembly. As telemedicine is implemented between doctors and patients, a wide range of systems that will improve the quality of healthcare services will be designed. In this sense, the study on the consumer acceptance of telehealth services is meaningful and offers strong academic evidence. Based on the implications, it can be expected to contribute to the activation of telehealth services. Further study is needed to assess the acceptance factors for telehealth services, such as motivation to remain healthy, health care involvement, knowledge on health, and control of health-related behavior, in order to develop unique services according to the categorization of customers based on health factors. In addition, further study may focus on various theoretical cognitive behavior models other than the TAM, such as the health belief model.

Telehealth for Rural Health Problems: Experiences in The U.S.A and Korea (농촌의 보건의료문제 해결을 위한 원격보건 : 미국과 한국의 경험)

  • Lee, Won-Jae
    • Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.188-202
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    • 1996
  • Telehealth is widely tested in the U.S.A and other developed countries. This system is expected to solve rural health problems reducing professional isolation. Some demonstration projects showed that the system can provide quality care in reasonable prices to rural residents. However, few study has been done on whether telehealth system can attract physicians by reducing professional isolation. The system is not available to most of the rural hospitals because the price for the equipment and telephone charges are not low enough. It is promising that the system cost and telephone charges are decreasing gradually. As time passes, rural hospitals will be more viable for the system. Satisfaction of the physicians and patients is a key factor for the implementation of the system. The physicians need to understand more about telecommunication and computer systems. After physicians are well-versed about the system, we can expect wide use of telehealth in rural areas. Effort for the confidentiality and standardization should be devoted to assure patient's privacy and compatibility of patient records and exam results. In Korea, two projects are being operated in Uljin and Kurye. A study evaluated the economic efficiency of the projects suggesting that increase of the number of patients up to three times of current number or decrease in hardware costs and telecommunication charges into two thirds of the current costs. The hardware and telecommunication charges are decreasing. Another area telehealth system can be applied is psychiatric accommodation facilities. Establishment of telehealth in the psychiatric facilities will increase the access of psychiatric care for patients and is expected to be economically efficient.

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A Study on the Research Trends of Effectiveness of Telehealth for the Elderly through Bibliographic Analysis (계량서지 분석을 통한 노인 대상 원격보건의 효과성 연구 동향 규명)

  • Park, Sun Ha;Kim, Mi Kyeong;Park, Hae Yean
    • Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.7-20
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    • 2022
  • Objective : This study aims to identify international academic trends regarding the effectiveness of telehealth for the elderly through bibliographic analysis and to secure the foundation for providing basic data and subsequent research to promote domestic research. Methods : This study collected bibliographic information on the effectiveness of telehealth for the elderly published in international academia from January 2010 to December 2020 and analyzed and visualized the relationships between information using VOS viewer software (version 1.6.16, CWTS, Netherlands, 2020). Results : First, the research trend analysis shows a 678% increase in the number of papers published over the past 10 years. Most of the research was conducted in 145 (45.89%) Health care science services, and the most papers were published in 39 Telemedicine and e-Health journals (9.11%). Second, the network analysis showed that Oxford University had a total of 168 connections in other countries and institutions in the U.K, indicating the strongest influence in international academic societies. Third, as a result of the keyword analysis, 'older adults (64 times)', 'care (62 times)', 'health (50 times)', 'technology (40 times)', and 'outcomes (41 times)' were used in the study. Conclusion : In this study, the trends and topics of international academia on the effectiveness of telehealth for the elderly were analyzed to form the basis for research activities and the institutional implementation of telehealth for the elderly in Korea.

Phenomenological Case Study of the Experience of Telehealth Digital Art Therapy in a Self-quarantined Person before Confirmed with COVID-19 (코로나19 자가격리자의 원격 디지털 미술치료 체험에 대한 현상학적 사례연구)

  • Shon, Chang-Bea;Lee, Ji-Yeon
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.20 no.12
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    • pp.646-658
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    • 2020
  • This study assessed the experience of telehealth digital art therapy with a phenomenological case study method based on the need for a psychotherapeutic intervention of caring for the psychological health of self-quarantined people before confirmed with COVID-19. The research participant was a 17-year-old adolescent (girl) from Canada, who participated in seven sessions in a structured telehealth digital art therapy program for 90~120 minutes per session while she was self-quarantining. The analysis of the data was conducted in the process of assessing significant statements through content analysis and drawing themes based on the researcher's pre-understanding and epoche. As a result, 34 themes were drawn, which were classified into 10 common theme clusters and finally into three theses, including "psychology and emotions during self-quarantine", "limitation of remote digital art therapy', and 'positiveness of remote digital art therapy." This study is the case study of telehealth digital art therapy conducted first with a self-quarantined person before confirmed with COVID-19, and at the center of the crisis of COVID-19, hopefully, this study would provide important implications for "psychological quarantine," active self-care for self-quarantined people's psychological health.

Reliability and Validity Inquiry for Tele-assessment Based on Video Conferencing

  • Suha Lee;Changho Song
    • Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.105-114
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    • 2023
  • Objective: The study examined the validity and reliability of tele-assessment of cervical range of motion (ROM) through video conferencing. Design: A cross-sectional study Methods: The study included 22 healthy adults as subjects and 10 physical therapists as evaluators. The subjects underwent both face-to-face and tele-assessment of cervical ROM. The CROM (Cervical Range of Motion) device was used for reference measurements in the face-to-face assessment. The evaluators assessed the subjects' ROM through visual inspection (VI) and using a Universal Goniometer (UG) in the tele-assessment. Results: The results showed a significant correlation between the face-to-face and tele-assessment measurements for all ROM contents. The correlation coefficients ranged from r=0.54 to 0.71 (p<0.05), indicating concurrent validity. In terms of inter-rater reliability, the ICC values for both VI and UG assessments in the tele-assessment were high, with ICCs of 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. Additionally, the study investigated the usability of the tele-assessment method and environment. The satisfaction of the participants and evaluators was assessed using the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ), which evaluates perceptions, usability, and satisfaction with telehealth services. Conclusions: In conclusion, tele-assessment of cervical range of motion using video conferencing was valid and reliable. Also, investigated participant and evaluator satisfaction and opinions, providing insights into the clinical value of tele-assessment. It is important to note that the study was conducted only healthy adults, and further research may be needed to validate the tele-assessment method in populations with cervical dysfunction or neck pain. These findings support the potential effectiveness of telerehabilitation services in assessing and managing musculoskeletal disorders.

Study on the Latest Trends of u-Health and Relations of Medical Technologist

  • Sung, Hyun-Ho;An, Yong-Ho;Lee, Dong-Beom;Kim, Sang-Won;Park, Chang-Eun
    • Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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    • v.44 no.4
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    • pp.178-183
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    • 2012
  • We investigated the latest trend of u-Health and relations with clinical technologist. Since 2000, Korea has become an aging society. Korea will become an aged society by 2018, and it is expected to enter the ultra-high aged society by 2026. Increase in over 65 years population means that the desire of medical service and care demand for the elderly is greatly required. In addition, many predicted Korean national health insurance would falter financially. Medical suppression policies and regulations are also amended continuously. U-Health based on the IT industry and development of related technologies and industries contains the variety concepts of telemedicine, telehealth, e-health, u-healthcare and POCT. Especially, the use of POCT supplied quick clinical examination is extending steadily in medical center and hospital, which will generate the field friction between nurses and medical technologists. In the transition situation from provider-centric service to consumer-driven health care system, this study recommended the principal role and correspondence of clinical laboratory workers and offered information about changes in healthcare market and the basic concept of expert system, measurement and the diagnosis principle to clinical technicians throughout the investigation of the recent research and government policy trends.

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A Review of Contemporary Teleaudiology: Literature Review, Technology, and Considerations for Practicing

  • Kim, Jinsook;Jeon, Seungik;Kim, Dokyun;Shin, Yerim
    • Korean Journal of Audiology
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2021
  • The scope of teleaudiology has been noted with telehealth due to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) recently. As the notion has been around us for more than 20 years ever since 1999, it is necessary to perceive the knowledge accurately and prepare for the successful implementation of it. Therefore, the literature review including screening and diagnostic audiometry, cochlear implants and hearing aids, and aural rehabilitation, telecommunications technology regarding several fields of teleaudiology, and considerations for practicing were identified. Although overall internet-based audiological services showed benefits in terms of outcome and accessibility, uncertainties of cost-effectiveness, the optimal level of support, and a need for further studies of many aspects for teleaudiology has arisen. In the view of technology, the store-and-forward (asynchronous/hybrid) and a real-time (synchronous) methods were introduced with one applied and nine registered patents recorded from 2004 to 2020 for the invention of teleaudiology in the United States. Also, 10 checklists were suggested for planning teleaudiology practice from prior experience in hosting the teleaudiology program. Conclusively, it is hoped that this review sheds light on recognizing and improving the existing teleaudiology services and helps overcome the challenges faced in the era of pandemic and untact world to come.

A Review of Contemporary Teleaudiology: Literature Review, Technology, and Considerations for Practicing

  • Kim, Jinsook;Jeon, Seungik;Kim, Dokyun;Shin, Yerim
    • Journal of Audiology & Otology
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2021
  • The scope of teleaudiology has been noted with telehealth due to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) recently. As the notion has been around us for more than 20 years ever since 1999, it is necessary to perceive the knowledge accurately and prepare for the successful implementation of it. Therefore, the literature review including screening and diagnostic audiometry, cochlear implants and hearing aids, and aural rehabilitation, telecommunications technology regarding several fields of teleaudiology, and considerations for practicing were identified. Although overall internet-based audiological services showed benefits in terms of outcome and accessibility, uncertainties of cost-effectiveness, the optimal level of support, and a need for further studies of many aspects for teleaudiology has arisen. In the view of technology, the store-and-forward (asynchronous/hybrid) and a real-time (synchronous) methods were introduced with one applied and nine registered patents recorded from 2004 to 2020 for the invention of teleaudiology in the United States. Also, 10 checklists were suggested for planning teleaudiology practice from prior experience in hosting the teleaudiology program. Conclusively, it is hoped that this review sheds light on recognizing and improving the existing teleaudiology services and helps overcome the challenges faced in the era of pandemic and untact world to come.