Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare

Empowering Public Health through Advancements in Telehealth

Telehealth has indeed seen rapid adoption and expansion in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The convenience, accessibility, and efficiency it provides have proven to be game changers for both patients and healthcare providers. It allows healthcare professionals to reach patients in remote or underserved areas, alleviating the burden of travel and time constraints for both parties. Additionally, telehealth enables quicker and more efficient management of chronic conditions, routine follow-ups, mental health services, and urgent care needs, all of which contribute to better overall healthcare delivery. Another significant advantage of telehealth is its role in reducing healthcare costs. By minimizing the need for in-person visits, healthcare systems can reduce overhead costs associated with clinics and hospital visits. Furthermore, telehealth can facilitate better coordination of care, reducing the likelihood of medical errors and improving patient outcomes. The rapid uptake of telehealth also led to the development of regulations and technologies that support secure and reliable communication, such as encrypted video calls and electronic health records. These advancements help maintain patient confidentiality and ensure compliance with health standards like HIPAA in the U.S. Given the rise in patient demand and the efficiency benefits to healthcare providers, telehealth is likely to continue playing a central role in modern healthcare systems, especially as technologies evolve and integrate with other digital health tools, like remote monitoring devices, and become more seamless.

However, some challenges remain, including technological barriers for certain populations, reimbursement models, and varying regulations across regions. Several important trends are anticipated to impact the expansion of telehealth care delivery including advancements in the consumer technology market, ongoing progress in electronic health records and clinical decision support systems, shortages in the health professional workforce, restructuring in the delivery and financing of medical care, and consumerism. Healthcare professionals must integrate new technologies into their workflows while ensuring they improve patient care. Both patients and clinicians may struggle with adoption, and reimbursement models remain complex due to varying policies. Interoperability between electronic health record (EHR) systems is crucial, but smaller facilities may lack the infrastructure for bandwidth-intensive telehealth. Regulatory barriers, including varying accreditation and insurance policies, add to the complexity. Additionally, concerns about technical reliability, privacy, and accountability in telehealth need to be addressed for successful integration.

This Article Collection highlights key trends in telehealth adoption, examines the current state of telehealth evidence, and discusses the challenges in promoting its implementation. It also aims to guide healthcare professionals and researchers in identifying critical priorities for telehealth research. Such research is essential for maximizing telehealth’s potential to improve patient experience, advance population health, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance the delivery of care. Papers submitted for this Article Collection should concentrate on the general theme of telehealth service delivery, addressing the following subtopics or research priorities:

• Healthcare professionals’ leadership: Leadership among healthcare professionals is essential to improve telehealth care delivery by collaborating with telehealth technology and service providers, while also contributing to the evidence base through comparisons of telehealth outcomes with traditional care.
• Reimbursement: Research on reimbursement in fee-for-service contexts and the impact of alternative payment models that use bundled telehealth services to calculate buyer returns on investment could be made easier by the current procedural terminology codes.
• Licensure: The needed licensing requirement, which may be bolstered by continuing research on potential quality-of-care concerns.
• Liability: Evidence to enhance understanding of any quality and safety risks that may distinguish telehealth service delivery from traditional in-person care.
• Human factors: Investigating user-centered design to enhance the incorporation of telehealth into clinical workflows and improve patient engagement
• Device interoperability and data integration: Exploring evidence-based best practices and standards that facilitate the optimal integration of devices and data streams from physician and patient telehealth engagement.
• Privacy and security: Establishing evidence-based standardized norms to facilitate adequate safeguards and regulatory control.
• Performance measurement: Improved evidence to fill deficiencies in current telehealth-related clinical performance metrics and augment those presently available.
• Patient engagement: Evidence-based recommendations to assist health professionals in counseling and engaging with patients and caregivers over the entire range of telehealth services and technologies.

Submission Instructions:

Please submit your manuscript through the Dovepress website. During submission, enter the promo code 36898 for a 10% discount off the Article Processing Charge and to indicate that your submission should be included in this Article Collection.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo full peer-review; Guest Advisors will not be handling submitted articles. Please review the journal’s aims and scope and author submission instructions prior to submission. Standard Article Publishing Charges apply.

The manuscript submission deadline is 15 February 2026.

If you have any questions about this Article Collection, please contact Krista Thom at Krista.Thom@taylorandfrancis.com.

Guest Advisors:

Dr. Salah Alshagrawi is an Associate Professor of Public Health specializing in health policy and public health research. With a passion for advancing knowledge in the intersection of healthcare systems, policy analysis, and population health, Dr. Salah has made significant contributions to understanding and shaping telehealth in public health practices. In addition to academic contributions, Dr. Salah is an active voice in public health discourse, publishing research in reputable journals and participating in telehealth policy discussions that influence real-world change.

Dr. Laudanski is a board-certified anesthesiologist and critical care doctor. He holds the Regional Anesthesia Certificate from the American Association of Anesthesiologists. His clinical experience focuses on managing ECMO, VAD, postoperative recovery, sepsis, and senescence secondary to maladaptive allostasis after critical illnesses. Additionally, he has expertise in neuro-critical care and telemedicine. Dr. Laudanski is interested in medical decision-making and healthcare operations as the primary determinant of patient recovery. One of his focuses is improving existing healthcare models, envisioning new healthcare models, and implementing novel technologies (tele-ICU, artificial intelligence, remote sensing).

Disclosure Statement: Neither Dr. Alshagrawi nor Dr. Laudanski discloses any conflict of interest.