Telehealth has many definitions, which have evolved over time to reflect technological capabilities. As such, to aid in guiding and understanding the work carried out by the TeleHealth in Cystic Fibrosis (THCF) Working Group, THCF define telehealth as:
Telehealth provides safe and accessible care/education through remote consultations between a patient/caregiver and healthcare professional using communication technology (e.g. videoconferencing, smartphone). It can be further enhanced using remote patient monitoring technologies coupled with safe and meaningful digital data transfer and storage.
Version: 0.3
Last review: January 2024,
Next review: January 2027
Summary of proposed work:
1. To understand current experiences of CF telehealth practices for all stakeholders in this space and benchmark against other lung diseases.
2. To design frameworks for developing standards for future care of CF telehealth and guidance on implementation.
3. To develop educational materials that will support potential implementation of the practices.
Aims and Objectives:
1. To investigate, explore and establish a framework that can be used to inform the development of future standards of care for CF telehealth.
2. To provide guidance and outline the procedures that facilitate implementation of telehealth into CF centres.
3. To provide general recommendations for the technical standards that should be considered when implementing telehealth into CF care.
4. To explore and outline required elements for an education module to train MDT and patients on the use and delivery of Telehealth.
5. To explore how/what data can be captured via Telehealth for CF registries.
6. To investigate and review other Telehealth Innovations that have not yet been implemented into CF Telehealth care that could further benefit patients and the MDT.