Sinha RK, Sinha S, Nishant P, Morya AK, Singh A. Telemedicine and public health–pearls and pitfalls. World J Methodol 2025; 15(2): 100632 [DOI: 10.5662/wjm.v15.i2.100632]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Arvind Kumar Morya, MBBS, MNAMS, MS, Additional Professor, Doctor, Researcher, Surgeon, Department of Ophthalmology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bibi Nagar, Hyderabad 508126, Telangana, India. bulbul.morya@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Health Policy & Services
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Ranjeet Kumar Sinha, Department of Community Medicine, Patna Medical College, Patna 800004, Bihar, India
Sony Sinha, Department of Ophthalmology-Vitreo-Retina, Neuro-Ophthalmology and Oculoplasty, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna 801507, Bihar, India
Prateek Nishant, Department of Ophthalmology, ESIC Medical College, Patna 801103, Bihar, India
Arvind Kumar Morya, Department of Ophthalmology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad 508126, Telangana, India
Arshi Singh, Department of Ophthalmology, Guru Nanak Eye Center, New Delhi 110001, India
Author contributions: Sinha RK and Morya AK conceptualized the study and coordinated the research activities; Nishant P contributed to data analysis, literature review; Sinha S, Sinha RK and Nishant P contributed to data collection; Sinha S and Singh A performed manuscript editing and proofreading; Morya AK reviewed and supervised the manuscript. All authors reviewed the version submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work presented.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Arvind Kumar Morya, MBBS, MNAMS, MS, Additional Professor, Doctor, Researcher, Surgeon, Department of Ophthalmology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bibi Nagar, Hyderabad 508126, Telangana, India. bulbul.morya@gmail.com
Received: August 21, 2024 Revised: September 27, 2024 Accepted: October 15, 2024 Published online: June 20, 2025 Processing time: 97 Days and 20.6 Hours
Abstract
We hereby comment on the interesting systematic review by Grewal et al where they have provided an overall picture of the current status of available tele-health programs in the United States with emphasis on the Amazon Clinic. Their analysis is an appreciable effort in discovering the features available and features lacking in these tele-health programs. The concept of tele-health originated to curtail the need for physical attendance of patients at health clinics, and has been beneficial during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. We implore that the pearls and pitfalls of these programs have to be understood by policymakers prior to forming a consensus regarding the availability, accessibility and affordability of these programs as methods of healthcare delivery. Unrestricted proliferation of tele-health programs in their current form may pose threats to patient and provider safety and medicolegal liability. However, patients and providers must work together to improve them to meet their expectations and enable them to provide the best care for the ailing public.
Core Tip: The systematic review by Grewal et al has provided an overall picture of the current status of available tele-health programs in the United States with emphasis on the Amazon Clinic. We present the pearls and pitfalls of these programs in a critical analysis to conclude with a warning that unrestricted proliferation of tele-health programs in their current form may pose threats to patient and provider safety and medicolegal liability. However, patients and providers must work together to improve them to meet their expectations and enable them to provide the best care for the ailing public.
