Telemedicine and rural areas

Abstract

The use of telemedicine, even in rural contexts, can represent an opportunity to promote a comprehensive and coherent approach to health, improving the efficiency in the management of healthcare resources while considering the demographic and professional reality of this environment. To this end, the people who live and work in this setting should be the focus of digital transformation, so that the implementation of this tool does not promote greater inequality, limits the digital divide, and manages to overcome the evident resistance to the use of telemedicine in an area in which interpersonal contact, human relationships, and knowledge of the environment have always been priorities. In addition to the opportunities and applications, some of the challenges faced by this complementary healthcare are presented, along with ideas to address them.