Telehealth in the Context of COVID-19: Changing Perspectives in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Abstract

Background On March 12, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic. On that date, there were 134,576 reported cases and 4981 deaths worldwide. By March 26, 2020, just 2 weeks later, reported cases had increased four-fold to 531,865, and deaths increased five-fold to 24,073. Older people are both major users of telehealth services and are more likely to die as a result of COVID-19. Objective This paper examines the extent that Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, during the 2 weeks following the pandemic announcement, sought to promote telehealth as a tool that could help identify COVID-19 among older people who may live alone, be frail, or be self-isolating, and give support to or facilitate the treatment of people who are or may be infected. Methods This paper reports, for the 2-week period previously mentioned and immediately prior, on activities and initiatives in the three countries taken by governments or their agencies (at national or state levels) together with publications or guidance issued by professional, trade, and charitable bodies. Different sources of information are drawn upon that point to the perceived likely benefits of telehealth in fighting the pandemic. It is not the purpose of this paper to draw together or analyze information that reflects growing knowledge about COVID-19, except where telehealth is seen as a component. Results The picture that emerges for the three countries, based on the sources identified, shows a number of differences. These differences center on the nature of their health services, the extent of attention given to older people (and the circumstances that can relate to them), the different geographies (notably concerned with rurality), and the changes to funding frameworks that could impact these. Common to all three countries is the value attributed to maintaining quality safeguards in the wider context of their health services but where such services are noted as sometimes having precluded significant telehealth use. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing changes and may help to establish telehealth more firmly in its aftermath. Some of the changes may not be long-lasting. However, the momentum is such that telehealth will almost certainly find a stronger place within health service frameworks for each of the three countries and is likely to have increased acceptance among both patients and health care providers.

Translating evidence-based treatment for digital health delivery: a protocol for family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa using telemedicine

“…There are additional circumstances where available face-to-face treatment sessions are not feasible, such as co-occurring physical or mental health issues, difficulties with travel, families who live at a great distance from each other yet are required to attend sessions (as is the case in some separated families), or natural disasters, such as the recent Australian bushfires which severely impacted regional and rural areas. Furthermore, the recent COVID-19 pandemic forced the sudden shutdown of face-to-face services due to health risks and an anticipated increase in demand for inpatient services [27,28]. Thus, rapid transition and adoption of new service delivery modalities are urgently required.…”

Maternal and Newborn Health Concerns in a Growing Urban Population

“…While barriers to telehealth largely center on policy at the local and national levels, the international demand for telehealth programs has rapidly increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Fisk et al 2020;Hong et al 2020). As a result, critical changes have been implemented across the globe to address the immediate need for telehealth.…”

Designing Futuristic Telemedicine Using Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in the COVID-19 Era

“…Telemedicine offers a new modality of delivering medical & allied health services and communicating with patients (11). The current COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the uptake of telemedicine (12,60). However, there are challenges concerning its geographical penetration, organizational structures, and infrastructure-related issues (12,41).…”