Inclusion, Diversity Or Disparity In Telehealth During The Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an explosive growth in telemedicine solutions. On the one hand, this is an important moment for the development of telehealth, which promotes inclusion and diversity, and reduces inequalities in health care. On the other hand, telehealth may be less accessible to minorities such as people with cancer, heart disease or rural patients. As telehealth begins to play an increasing role in healthcare delivery in Russia, telemedicine solutions need to be more socially responsive and to transform practices at the individual and organizational levels, helping the organization’s efforts to reduce inequality. Workflows for video conferencing should be designed based on the experience of outpatient teams with video conferencing experience. The authors recommend that telemedicine engineering companies use the ISA 315 Organization’s Internal Control System with its D&I component.