Skip to main content

Telehealth

Guest Editors:
Bassey Ebenso: University of Leeds, UK
Hao Xue: Stanford University, USA


TelehealthTelehealth is an exciting area of research that, to a great extent, is transforming healthcare and contributing to achieving universal health coverage by improving access (for patients) to quality and cost-effective health services wherever they may be. In support of the rapid progress being made in the telehealth research field, the new launch journal BMC Digital Health, and BMC Health Services Research, jointly ran a collection on Telehealth.

BMC Digital Health considered submissions covering: 

  • Technological developments for providing telehealth
  • Clinical trials of new digital health technologies

BMC Health Services Research considered submissions covering: 

  • Telehealth user perspectives
  • Real-world application and implementation of telehealth technologies in health services

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

Dr. Bassey Ebenso: University of Leeds, UK

Bassey EbensoA medical doctor and interdisciplinary researcher, Bassey has over 30 years of experience in global health focusing on health policy and systems strengthening in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). He spent his early scientific career in management positions in disease control programs in West Africa, including working as a country director for an international organization. He later joined the University of Leeds, focussing on addressing global health challenges and making healthcare fairer through developing collaborative health services research programs with partners from African and Asian countries. A stream of Bassey’s work involves understanding how implementing digital health strategies can strengthen health systems in LMICs to expand access to healthcare services and improve health outcomes.

Dr. Hao Xue: Stanford University, USA

Hao XueHao Xue is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar for the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) at Stanford University. He focuses on digital health and primary care quality in developing countries. As a health economist, he led randomized experiments and large-scale population-based surveys to design and evaluate innovative approaches to quality healthcare through digital technologies.

About the collection

TelehealthTelehealth is an exciting area of research that, to a great extent, is transforming healthcare and contributing to achieving universal health coverage by improving access (for patients) to quality and cost-effective health services wherever they may be. Telehealth is the provision of healthcare remotely by means of telecommunications technologies. It is a broad discipline with multiple stakeholders, including clinicians and researchers with expertise in diverse areas, such as healthcare, public health, data technologies, health informatics, and biomedical engineering. 

The terms telemedicine and telehealth are often used interchangeably. Telemedicine refers to the practice of medicine (i.e. diagnosis and treatment of patients) using technology to deliver care to a patient at a distant site. For the purpose of this collection, telehealth is an umbrella term for all components and activities of healthcare and the healthcare system that are conducted through electronic and telecommunications technologies. Examples of telehealth activities and applications that go beyond remote clinical care include healthcare education, health information services, self-care, wearable devices that record and transmit vital signs, and provider-to-provider remote communication.

Technologies currently being deployed for telehealth include mHealth (or mobile health), video and audio technologies, digital photography, remote patient monitoring (RPM), store-and-forward technologies, and streaming media.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly made telehealth developments even more important, and the delivery of healthcare via telehealth-based services has increased rapidly as a way of delivering care services while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

In support of the rapid progress being made in the telehealth research field, the new launch journal BMC Digital Health, and BMC Health Services Research, will jointly run a collection on the topic of Telehealth. Both journals will consider Research Articles, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses. 

BMC Digital Health will consider submissions covering: 

  • Technological developments for providing telehealth
  • Clinical trials of new digital health technologies

BMC Health Services Research will consider submissions covering: 

  • Telehealth user perspectives
  • Real-world application and implementation of telehealth technologies in health services

Page 2 of 2

  2. Telehealth is an effective option to fight the outbreak of COVID-19. This review aims to systematically characterize the utilization and applications of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic focusing mainly ...

    Authors: Stefania De Simone, Massimo Franco, Giuseppe Servillo and Maria Vargas
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2022 22:833
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented demand for digital health technology solutions, such as remote monitoring. Previous research has focused on patients with chronic diseases, and their experience...

    Authors: Ann-Chatrin Linqvist Leonardsen, Ann Karin Helgesen, Andreas Stensvold, Jannik Magnussen and Vigdis A. Grøndahl
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2022 22:453
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Process evaluations are useful in clarifying results obtained from randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Traditionally, the degree of intervention usage in process evaluations is monitored by measuring dose or ...

    Authors: Emmelie Barenfeld, Joanne M. Fuller, Sara Wallström, Andreas Fors, Lilas Ali and Inger Ekman
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2022 22:442
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the first cause of death globally, with huge costs worldwide. Most cases of CVD could be prevented by addressing behavioural risk factors. Among these factors, there is physical...

    Authors: Gabriele Palozzi and Gianluca Antonucci
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2022 22:277
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with a wide range of complications. However, a multitude of barriers prevent SCD patients from receiving adequate healthcare, including difficulties with transportation ...

    Authors: Seethal A. Jacob, Roua Daas, Anna Feliciano, Julia E. LaMotte and Aaron E. Carroll
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2022 22:239
    Content type: Research Published on: