Health and safety conditions in telemedicine practice: a rapid literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63434/30286999.147Keywords:
Telemedicine, Occupational health, Healthcare workers, Medical personnelAbstract
Telemedicine uses information technologies for the transfer of medical data for diagnostic, therapeutic and educational purposes. Although it emerged in the nineteenth century, the SARS-CoV 2 pandemic in 2020 boosted its use, ensuring the continuity of medical care. Today it is a key tool for access to health, although it faces challenges such as the doctor-patient relationship and technological inequality.
Objective: to identify occupational health and safety conditions in the practice of telemedicine review in the literature during 2019-2025.
Methodology: a rapid review of the literature was carried out through a structured search in indexed databases and gray literature. We included studies in English or Spanish (2019-2025) that addressed occupational health and safety conditions in the practice of telemedicine. The data were organized in an extraction matrix according to the categories of physical work environment, organizational conditions, and task characteristics.
Results: 249 articles were identified, with a final count of 13 articles included in the review. Regarding the physical environment, the lack of technology and connection affects quality the practice of telemedicine. At the organizational level, there is salary dissatisfaction, lack of institutional support and an increase in working hours due to difficult disconnecting from work. In terms of task conditions, telemedicine generates stress and burnout, although it provides flexibility.
Conclusions: the study analyzes the conditions that impact the health and safety of physicians in telemedicine, considering the physical environment, organizational conditions, and the nature of the task.
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