Current use of telehealth in urology: a review

Purpose Applications of telehealth have been growing in popularity. However, there is little information on how telehealth is being used in Urology. In this review, we examine current applications of telehealth in urological practices as well as barriers to implementation. Methods A review was conducted of original research within the past 10 years describing telehealth applications in urology. Articles on telehealth as applied to other specialties were reviewed for discussion on real or perceived barriers to implementation. Results Twenty-four articles met the inclusion criteria. The most common application of telehealth was using a video visit to assess or follow-up with patients. The second most commonly described applications of telehealth were telementorship, or the use of telehealth technology to help train providers, and telemedicine used in diagnostics. Studies consistently stated the effectiveness of the telehealth applications and the high level of patient and provider satisfaction. Conclusions Telehealth is sparingly used in urology. Barriers to implementation include technological literacy, reimbursement uncertainties, and resistance to change in workflow. When used, telehealth technologies are shown to be safe, effective, and satisfactory for patients and providers. Further investigation is necessary to determine the efficacy of telehealth applications.