Communication Strategies to Promote Patient Engagement in Telemedicine: Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Communication
• Telemedicine Research

Background:

• Telemedicine's growth necessitates effective patient engagement through provider communication.
• A research gap exists in understanding specific telemedicine communication strategies and their impact on patient engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review communication strategies influencing patient engagement in telemedicine provider-patient interactions.
• To identify how patient engagement is evaluated in existing telemedicine studies.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search across 6 databases (inception to Oct 2025).
• Inclusion of empirical, English-language studies on telemedicine communication and patient engagement.
• Content analysis for themes and narrative synthesis due to study heterogeneity.

Main Results:

• 34 articles reviewed, identifying 3 themes of communication strategies: interpersonal, team-level, and system-level.
• Interpersonal strategies include relationship building, supportive attitude, and tailored communication.
• Team strategies involve training and coordination, while system strategies focus on information usefulness and data security.

Conclusions:

• This review synthesizes multilevel communication strategies (interpersonal, team, system) for enhanced telemedicine patient engagement.
• Provides a holistic framework and actionable guidance for healthcare professionals, developers, and policymakers.
• Highlights the need for future research on quantitative engagement measures and strategy-outcome relationships.