Information and communication technology-based interventions for chronic diseases consultation: Scoping review

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Digital Health
• Chronic Disease Management

Background:

• Medical consultations are vital for chronic disease management, with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enabling patient participation.
• ICT adoption in healthcare presents security and privacy challenges due to sensitive health data and regulatory requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map existing knowledge on ICT-based interventions for chronic disease consultations.
• To identify research gaps concerning ICT use, information managed, and security/privacy in chronic disease consultations.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review of literature published between January 2015 and June 2020.
• Searches conducted across major scientific databases (ACM, IEEE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science).
• Studies analyzed based on ICT use across consultation phases (before, during, after), information managed, and security/privacy considerations.

Main Results:

• Only five studies utilized ICTs across all three consultation phases (before, during, after).
• Common ICTs included smartphone apps, web portals, cloud infrastructure, and EHR systems; sensors/wearables were widely used for data collection.
• Nine information categories were identified, including physiological data, treatment details, medical history, and lab results.
• Security was addressed in 20 studies, but privacy was only covered in eight.

Conclusions:

• ICTs offer potential for innovative chronic disease consultation models beyond traditional physical or remote meetings.
• A significant gap exists in research addressing security and privacy concerns related to ICT use in chronic disease management.
• Future research must prioritize security and privacy due to the increasing volume of sensitive health data handled by ICTs.