Skip to main content

About this Research Topic

Submission closed.

Telemedicine networks to support healthcare workers in resource-limited settings (often for humanitarian purposes) have evolved over the last decade or so in a largely autonomous way. Communication between them has been informal and relatively limited in scope. This situation could be improved by developing a ...

Telemedicine networks to support healthcare workers in resource-limited settings (often for humanitarian purposes) have evolved over the last decade or so in a largely autonomous way. Communication between them has been informal and relatively limited in scope. This situation could be improved by developing a comprehensive approach to the collection and dissemination of information.

A recent review identified seven telemedicine networks, each of which had been in operation for at least five years and which provided store-and-forward telemedicine services to doctors in low- and middle-income countries. These networks provide clinically useful services and improved healthcare access. However, like much of telemedicine, the formal evidence for their cost-effectiveness remains weak.

Topics of current research interest therefore include the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine in resource-limited settings. Outcomes data (and methods for gathering it) such as patient quality of life following a telemedicine episode, the knowledge-gain of healthcare staff involved in telemedicine, and staff recruitment and retention in rural areas are also of interest. Finally, there is little published information about the performance of these telemedicine networks (and methods for measuring it), about how best to manage them, and about how to share resources between them.
A collection of articles reporting the current evidence supporting the use of telemedicine in resource-limited settings would build the evidence base and should provide a focus for future research. It would also serve to raise the profile of this potentially important research field.

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic Editors

Loading..

Topic Coordinators

Loading..

Recent Articles

Loading..

Articles

Sort by:

Loading..

Authors

Loading..

total views

total views article views downloads topic views

}
 
Top countries
Top referring sites
Loading..

About Frontiers Research Topics

With their unique mixes of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author.