Telehealth technology in case/disease management

Case managers can better coordinate and facilitate chronic illness care by adopting telehealth technology. This article overviews four major categories of telehealth technology based on patients' roles in self-management: surveillance, testing peripherals and messaging, decision support aids, and online support groups related to patients' subordinate, structured, collaborative, and autonomous roles, respectively. These various telehealth technologies should be selected on the basis of patients' care needs and preferences. Moreover, when they are integrated with other clinical information systems, case management practice can be better performed. However, the specific role functions and skill sets needed to be competent in telehealth environments have not yet been clearly identified. Considering role ambiguity and stress among telehealth clinicians, clarifying relevant roles is an urgent task.