Telehealth is an innovative application of technology in healthcare including a broad range of healthcare services and modalities such as live video, asynchronous store-and-forward, remote patient monitoring, and mobile health (mHealth). Use of Telehealth in Emergency Medicine (EM) is increasing and has numerous applications to improve patient outcomes. Telehealth has been incorporated into EM practice through provider- to-provider programs to leverage EM expertise to fill gaps in care at sites external to the brick-and-mortar emergency departments (EDs) and direct-to-patient programs to provide care to patients via web-based platforms. Recent direct-to-patient initiatives include using telecommunication technologies within an ED to facilitate the triage process and reduce the time from ED arrival to provider evaluation. With EM serving as a microcosm of the healthcare system, it can provide valuable insight to how telehealth could solve some of healthcare?s current and future problems. We propose the ?Telehealth and Emergency Medicine: A Consensus Conference to Map the Intersection of Emergency Medicine and Telehealth,? to stimulate researchers and educators in our specialty to recognize, investigate and translate the impact of telehealth on the field of EM. The overarching goal of this consensus conference is to develop a research agenda to support future clinical practice and evidence-based investigation at the intersection of telehealth and emergency medicine. The consensus conference will bring together thought leaders and practitioners across multiple organizations that influence telehealth and EM and patients. It will include state-of-the-art didactics, breakout group planning sessions, and a consensus building process. This consensus conference has three specific aims: (1) summarize current state of telehealth in Emergency Medicine; (2) develop actionable educational solutions for telehealth in EM; and (3) develop actionable research solutions for telehealth in EM.
Telehealth is an innovative application of technology in healthcare with increasing use in emergency medicine. The goal of this consensus conference is to develop a research agenda to support future clinical practice and evidence-based investigation at the intersection of telehealth and emergency medicine.
