Telemedicine in cardiac procedures: considerations for a remote future

Area of Science:

• Medical technology
• Robotics in medicine
• Cardiovascular medicine

Background:

• Telemedicine adoption accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily in outpatient settings.
• Telemedicine offers benefits like reduced costs and increased patient engagement.
• Concerns include privacy, care quality, and data security in remote healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• Review literature on telerobotic support and collaboration in cardiac procedures.
• Propose a framework for discussing factors influencing adoption.
• Examine considerations for integrating remote technologies in procedural medicine.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of existing studies and opinion articles.
• Analysis of benefits and challenges in remote procedural medicine.
• Framework development for telerobotic adoption in cardiac interventions.

Main Results:

• Remote procedural medicine has shown technical success but faces adoption hurdles.
• Key issues include quality assurance, data security, and patient safety.
• Physician engagement is vital for successful integration.

Conclusions:

• Remote technologies will increasingly impact procedural medicine.
• Proactive physician involvement is essential for optimizing benefits.
• A structured approach is needed to navigate the evolution of telerobotic cardiac procedures.