Abstract :
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine adoption, showcasing its potential in improving healthcare delivery. However, privacy and security risks pose challenges, impeding widespread acceptance. The aim is to investigate the integration of data analytics, data analysis, and data cleaning in telemedicine, focusing on patient data privacy and security, with the goal of proposing strategies to mitigate risks and uphold confidentiality. Utilizing a qualitative approach, privacy and security challenges in telemedicine were investigated. Multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, were searched from 2018-2023. Inclusion criteria involved English-language, peer-reviewed empirical studies focusing on telemedicine privacy and security. Out of 770 unique records screened, eight studies were included. Full-text review and risk of bias assessment were conducted using CASP tool. Privacy and security, technology hurdles for providers, patient trust, professional training, physical assessment challenges, and disparities among special populations were identified. Environmental, technological, and operational factors contribute to privacy and security risks in telehealth. Technology challenges like restricted access to telehealth tools and poor internet hinder adoption. Data analytics in telemedicine facilitates healthcare transformation, addressing privacy and security while optimizing patient outcomes through advanced analytics techniques and structured data analytics lifecycles. The integration of data analytics in telemedicine shows promise for healthcare transformation by providing insights into patient behavior and policy impacts, while ensuring data privacy and security. Addressing barriers, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires infrastructure enhancements and global research efforts for inclusive telehealth ecosystems.
Keywords :
Data Analytics, Data protection, Healthcare delivery, Privacy, Professional training, Regulatory frameworks, Security., Telemedicine.References :
- Garfan et al., “Telehealth utilization during the Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review,” Comput. Biol. Med., vol. 138, p. 104878, 2021.
- Nittari, D. Savva, D. Tomassoni, S. K. Tayebati, and F. Amenta, “Telemedicine in the COVID-19 era: a narrative review based on current evidence,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health, vol. 19, no. 9, p. 5101, 2022.
- -T. Shen, L. Chen, W.-W. Yue, and H.-X. Xu, “Digital technology-based telemedicine for the COVID-19 pandemic,” Front. Med., vol. 8, p. 646506, 2021.
- Mehraeen et al., “Telemedicine technologies and applications in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review,” Health Informatics J., vol. 29, no. 2, p. 14604582231167431, 2023.
- R. Wood et al., “Advancing digital health equity: a policy paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association,” Clin. Infect. Dis., vol. 72, no. 6, pp. 913–919, 2021.
- Ortega et al., “Telemedicine, COVID-19, and disparities: policy implications,” Health Policy Technol., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 368–371, 2020.
- Shachar, J. Engel, and G. Elwyn, “Implications for telehealth in a postpandemic future: regulatory and privacy issues,” Jama, vol. 323, no. 23, pp. 2375–2376, 2020.
- Najjar, “Digital Frontiers in Healthcare: Integrating mHealth, AI, and Radiology for Future Medical Diagnostics,” 2024, Accessed: Mar. 19, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/88984
- Muhammad, The Power of Prediction in Health Care: A Step-by-step Guide to Data Science in Health Care. Rafiq Muhammad, 2024.
- C. Chibuike, G. S. Sara, and B. Adele, “Overcoming Challenges for Improved Patient-Centric Care: A Scoping Review of Platform Ecosystems in Healthcare,” IEEE Access, 2024.
- McClellan et al., “Health care payers COVID-19 impact assessment: lessons learned and compelling needs,” NAM Perspect., vol. 2021, 2021.
- Ftouni, B. AlJardali, M. Hamdanieh, L. Ftouni, and N. Salem, “Challenges of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review,” BMC Med. Inform. Decis. Mak., vol. 22, no. 1, p. 207, 2022.
- A. Long, D. P. French, and J. M. Brooks, “Optimising the value of the critical appraisal skills programme (CASP) tool for quality appraisal in qualitative evidence synthesis,” Res. Methods Med. Health Sci., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 31–42, 2020.
- E. Moss, K. E. Lai, and M. W. Ko, “Survey of telehealth adoption by neuro-ophthalmologists during the COVID-19 pandemic: benefits, barriers, and utility,” J. Neuroophthalmol., vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 346–355, 2020.
- E. Holtz, “Patients perceptions of telemedicine visits before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic,” Telemed. E-Health, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 107–112, 2021.
- J. Sorensen, S. Bessen, J. Danford, C. Fleischer, and S. L. Wong, “Telemedicine for surgical consultations–pandemic response or here to stay?: a report of public perceptions,” Ann. Surg., vol. 272, no. 3, pp. e174–e180, 2020.
- Ekong, E. Chukwu, and M. Chukwu, “COVID-19 mobile positioning data contact tracing and patient privacy regulations: exploratory search of global response strategies and the use of digital tools in Nigeria,” JMIR MHealth UHealth, vol. 8, no. 4, p. e19139, 2020.
- E. Britton and J. D. Britton-Colonnese, “Privacy and security issues surrounding the protection of data generated by continuous glucose monitors,” J. Diabetes Sci. Technol., vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 216–219, 2017.
- Rogers et al., “An exploratory study investigating the barriers, facilitators, and demands affecting caregivers in a telemedicine integrated ambulance-based setting for stroke care,” Appl. Ergon., vol. 97, p. 103537, 2021.
- Shachar, J. Engel, and G. Elwyn, “Implications for telehealth in a postpandemic future: regulatory and privacy issues,” Jama, vol. 323, no. 23, pp. 2375–2376, 2020.
- Abdul-Rahim and S. Alshahrani, “Ethical Considerations in Telemedicine and Remote Healthcare,” Saudi J. Nurs. Health Care, vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 241–246, 2023.
- A. Thomas, A. Drewry, S. Racine Passmore, N. Assad, and K. K. Hoppe, “Patient perceptions, opinions and satisfaction of telehealth with remote blood pressure monitoring postpartum,” BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, vol. 21, pp. 1–11, 2021.
- T. van Houwelingen, R. G. Ettema, M. G. Antonietti, and H. S. Kort, “Understanding older people’s readiness for receiving telehealth: mixed-method study,” J. Med. Internet Res., vol. 20, no. 4, p. e123, 2018.
- Shafqat, S. Kishwer, R. U. Rasool, J. Qadir, T. Amjad, and H. F. Ahmad, “Big data analytics enhanced healthcare systems: a review,” J. Supercomput., vol. 76, pp. 1754–1799, 2020.
- H. ur Rehman, V. Chang, A. Batool, and T. Y. Wah, “Big data reduction framework for value creation in sustainable enterprises,” Int. J. Inf. Manag., vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 917–928, 2016.
- Gudivada, A. Apon, and J. Ding, “Data quality considerations for big data and machine learning: Going beyond data cleaning and transformations,” Int. J. Adv. Softw., vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1–20, 2017.
- F. Rahman, Y. Wen, H. Xu, T.-L. B. Tseng, and S. Akundi, “Data mining in telemedicine,” Adv. Telemed. Health Monit. Technol. Des. Appl., pp. 103–131, 2020.
- M. Krumholz, “Big data and new knowledge in medicine: the thinking, training, and tools needed for a learning health system,” Health Aff. (Millwood), vol. 33, no. 7, pp. 1163–1170, 2014.
- Yu, T. Zhang, Z. Liu, A. A. Hatab, and J. Lan, “Tripartite data analysis for optimizing telemedicine operations: Evidence from Guizhou province in China,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health, vol. 17, no. 1, p. 375, 2020.
- Demiris, “Consumer health informatics: past, present, and future of a rapidly evolving domain,” Yearb. Med. Inform., vol. 25, no. S 01, pp. S42–S47, 2016.
- H. Houser, C. A. Flite, and S. L. Foster, “Privacy and Security Risk Factors Related to Telehealth Services–A Systematic Review,” Perspect. Health Inf. Manag., vol. 20, no. 1, 2023.
- B. Awotunde, A. E. Adeniyi, R. O. Ogundokun, G. J. Ajamu, and P. O. Adebayo, “MIoT-based big data analytics architecture, opportunities and challenges for enhanced telemedicine systems,” Enhanc. Telemed. E-Health Adv. IoT Enabled Soft Comput. Framew., pp. 199–220, 2021.
- Rasool, A. Tariq, and Y. Hayat, “Maximizing Efficiency in Telemedicine: An IoT-Based Artificial Intelligence Optimization Framework for Health Analysis,” Eur. J. Sci. Innov. Technol., vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 48–61, 2023.
- T. Peek, E. J. Wouters, J. Van Hoof, K. G. Luijkx, H. R. Boeije, and H. J. Vrijhoef, “Factors influencing acceptance of technology for aging in place: a systematic review,” Int. J. Med. Inf., vol. 83, no. 4, pp. 235–248, 2014.
- Bali, “Barriers to development of telemedicine in developing countries,” in Telehealth, IntechOpen, 2018.
- Haleem, M. Javaid, R. P. Singh, and R. Suman, “Telemedicine for healthcare: Capabilities, features, barriers, and applications,” Sens. Int., vol. 2, p. 100117, 2021.
- H. Ashmore, J. H. Farrington, and S. Skerratt, “Community-led broadband in rural digital infrastructure development: Implications for resilience,” J. Rural Stud., vol. 54, pp. 408–425, 2017.
- M. Hosseini, S. A. Boushehri, and K. Alimohammadzadeh, “Challenges and solutions for implementing telemedicine in Iran from health policymakers’ perspective,” BMC Health Serv. Res., vol. 24, no. 1, p. 50, 2024.
- J. Young and J. Pham, “Improving the electronic nexus between generalists and specialists: A public health imperative?,” in Healthcare, Elsevier, 2016, pp. 302–306.
- I. Ahmad, J. Singla, and K. J. Giri, “Security and Privacy of E-health Data,” Multimed. Secur. Algorithm Dev. Anal. Appl., pp. 199–214, 2021.
- Abouelmehdi, A. Beni-Hessane, and H. Khaloufi, “Big healthcare data: preserving security and privacy,” J. Big Data, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–18, 2018.
- Vats et al., “Navigating the Landscape: Safeguarding Privacy and Security in the Era of Ambient Intelligence within Healthcare Settings,” Cyber Secur. Appl., p. 100046, 2024.
- Yaqoob Mohammed Al Jabri, T. Kvist, M. Azimirad, and H. Turunen, “A systematic review of healthcare professionals’ core competency instruments,” Nurs. Health Sci., vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 87–102, 2021.
- Talmont, “Assessing technology attitudes and telehealth readiness among New Jersey perinatal nurses,” Rutgers University-School of Nursing-RBHS, 2020.
- Abbott et al., “An Exploration of National Policies and Effective Practices for Electronic and Mobile Learning for Nursing and Midwifery Education,” 2017.
- E. Scott and M. Mars, “Telehealth in the developing world: current status and future prospects,” Smart Homecare Technol. TeleHealth, pp. 25–37, 2015.