%0 Journal Article
%T A ¡°matter of communication¡±: A new classification to compare and evaluate telehealth and telemedicine interventions and understand their effectiveness as a communication process
%A Chiara Bertoncello
%A Massimiliano Colucci
%A Tatjana Baldovin
%A Vincenzo Baldo
%J Health Informatics Journal
%@ 1741-2811
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1460458217747109
%X This article attempts to define functions and applications of telemedicine and telehealth in order to achieve a simplified and comprehensive taxonomy. This may be used as a tool to evaluate their efficacy and to address health policies from the perspective of the centrality of information in the healthcare. Starting from a lexical frame, telemedicine or telehealth is conceived as a communication means and their action as a communication process. As a performance, the communication is related to the health outcome. Three functions (telemetry, telephasis, and telepraxis) and nine applications are identified. Understanding the mechanisms of telemedicine and telehealth effectiveness is crucial for a value-driven healthcare system. This new classification¡ªfocusing on the end effect of telemedicine and telehealth and on the type of interactions between involved actors¡ªmoves toward a new and simplified methodology to compare different studies and practices, design future researches, classify new technologies and guide their development, and finally address health policies and the healthcare provision
%K communication
%K decision-making
%K efficacy
%K eHealth
%K evaluation
%K taxonomy
%K telecare
%K telehealth
%K telemedicine
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1460458217747109