Telemedicine and telehealth services and their sustainability

Abstract

Increased access to information and communication technologies, the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, biotechnology, the internet of things, the internet of services and a variety of innovations arising from emerging ecosystem of start ups opportunizes the expansion of the offer of telemedicine and telehealth services in different forms and specialties. In this scenario, this variety of technology should be used as best as possible to promote best practices, the safest and the best reach of the target population, through structured teleassistance, telediagnostic and teleducation services, avoiding unnecessary referrals, increasing agility in the delivery of test results, scheduling and consultations with specialists, diluting the hospitalization rate, among others. All this technology can assume expressive values from a financial standpoint, which can impact both positively and negatively. The expectation of those who invest is also to generate savings of resources with the use of such tools in order to achieve sustainability of the service. This article aims to raise and analyze the literature produced in the last five years, on the sustainability of telemedicine and telehealth services in the context of care, assuming the perspective of the service provider.