Exploring the Impact of Remote Leadership on Health Care Delivery: A Systematic Scoping Review

Remote leadership has gained increasing recognition and become possible across sectors. Still, this approach is relatively new in the healthcare sector. The literature shows that the dynamic interaction among digitalization, remote working, leadership, and culture in the healthcare sector is under-researched. This review aimed to investigate how remote leadership is defined and conceptualized in healthcare organizations, how it is practiced across Western and non-Western cultures, and how these practices impact the healthcare sector.

We conducted a scoping review and applied the JBI and PRISMA-ScR frameworks to guide it. Articles from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were used as sources of literature. All studies were analyzed using descriptive and inductive thematic analysis.

Of 5310 studies, 17 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Our findings identified 4 themes: key concepts of remote leadership, competencies needed by remote leaders, opportunities and challenges of remote leadership, and how remote leadership is practiced in Western versus non-Western cultures. Remote leadership impacted on health system, organization, and service delivery. Lastly, we found that remote leadership in relation to culture was implicitly explored and is associated with leadership styles.

This review indicates that conceptual clarity remains underdeveloped within the healthcare-specific literature. A notable finding was that cultural context remained underexplored, with culture frequently treated implicitly through leadership style rather than as a distinct analytical dimension of remote leadership in healthcare. Further research is needed to provide a comprehensive understanding that helps remote leaders manage remote work environments and enhance the sustainability of healthcare services in an evolving digital era.