Purpose of Document
Telehealth is delivery of health services at a distance. This policy statement
aims to provide guidelines which ensure that, when planning is undertaken for
rural telehealth services, the range of telehealth services considered are appropriate
to local healthcare needs and services. The cultural and social contexts into
which the services are being introduced should also be taken into consideration.
Members of the WONCA Rural Information Technology Exchange (WRITE) have prepared
the document. WRITE was formed at the First International Conference on Rural
Medicine in Shanghai, May 1996 by a group of rural doctors with an interest
in the appropriate use of information technology in health.
Policy Commitment and Funding
Funding for rural health services on a per capita basis is significantly less
than that for urban health services in many countries, both developed and developing.
Any planning or funding decisions to introduce telehealth to rural and remote
areas must not have an adverse effect on the existing levels of funding for
those areas ie the introduction of telehealth must not be used as justification
for reducing levels of funding to other services. This can only be avoided by
governments having a clear policy commitment to improve the health status of
their rural populations. Appropriate levels of funding for rural health must
support this policy commitment.
WRITE believes that telehealth has the potential to improve the quality of health
care in rural areas across the world, and supports its implementation where
specific funding is made available and when telehealth services are shown to
be appropriate to support or enhance local rural health services.