Telehealth
Digital Health and AI
Definition. Telehealth is the delivery of health services, education and information at a distance through telecommunications, including video consultations, remote monitoring and messaging.
Explanation
Telemedicine refers more narrowly to clinical care delivered remotely. Hospital telemedicine services are evaluated with a wide range of methods, which makes results hard to compare (AlDossary et al., 2016). Simple tools such as WhatsApp have been used to support medication adherence in chronic disease (Sartori, 2020).
Use after the COVID-19 pandemic depends on digital inclusion: people with disabilities, older adults and those with low digital skills may benefit most but use services least (Albasheer et al., 2026). Managers should plan reimbursement, data security, clinical protocols and support for patients who cannot use remote services.
Related concepts
Mobile health (mHealth) Digital divide Digital health literacy Access to care Technology acceptance model (TAM)
Read on The Health Topics
- Telemedicine Services in Hospitals: Evaluation and Implementation
- WhatsApp in Diabetes Care: What 90 Studies Actually Tell Us
- The Concept of Digital Inclusion: A Conceptual and Integrative Introduction from the Perspective of Health Sciences and Health Management
References
Albasheer, O., Abdelwahab, S. I., Gosadi, I., Alessa, H., Madkhali, A., Hakami, A., Mobarki, H. J., Mobarki, O. A., Farji, J. S., Hakami, R. A., Aldalgan, K. M., Mobarki, M. A., Homadi, A. A., Alhazmi, N. A., & Hakami, A. M. (2026). Telemedicine utilization and digital inclusion among people with disabilities in Saudi Arabia: Post-pandemic associated factors and policy implications. Frontiers in Public Health, 14, Article 1756958. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1756958
AlDossary, S., Martin-Khan, M. G., Bradford, N. K., & Smith, A. C. (2016). A systematic review of the methodologies used to evaluate telemedicine service initiatives in hospital facilities. International Journal of Medical Informatics. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.10.012
Sartori, A. C., et al. (2020). Educational intervention using WhatsApp on medication adherence in hypertension and diabetes. Telemedicine and E-Health, 26 (6), 755–760. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2019.0061
Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Telehealth. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/telehealth/