The use of telemedicine to enhance secondary care: some lessons from the front line

Abstract

Digital technologies such as telemedicine have the potential to transform healthcare, but uptake has only recently gained momentum secondary to national policy drivers. This paper reviews the potential benefi ts of telemedicine in secondary care and explores the use of video conferencing to support the hospital follow-up of older people with chronic disease, identifying a wide variety of issues that need to be addressed for successful implementation. We believe these issues will interest secondary care colleagues considering the use of telemedicine to support or substitute for some outpatient activities.