Organizational and social impacts of telehealth: a cause for concern?

Telehealth is a flexible way of working which covers a wide range of health-related activities, all of which entail either working remotely from a traditional healthcare centre for a significant proportion of work time, on either a full-time or part-time basis. The work often involves electronic processing of information and always involves telecommunications to keep the remote healthcare centre and healthcare provider in contact with one another. This paper discusses the ramifications of technology-led change in the commercial healthcare environment, its impact on healthcare organizations, the social aspects of our lives and the shape of the telehealth industry we expect to see in the future.