Health Information Technology and Tele-medicine in Covid-19 Management: A Systematic Review

This study aims to conduct a review of information technologies and telemedicine services during Covid-19 pandemic in order to identify the main challenges on the way, and provide recommendations.

A systematic review of medical informatics and telemedicine application in the 2019n-CoV period was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) method. The original papers or proceedings in English language containing the keywords were considered eligible for this study. 323 studies from the seven databases searched (PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore Library, and Springer Link) were imported to a project in Covidence.com and checked for duplications. After the reviewers screened their titles and abstracts, each potentially relevant study (n=107) was assessed in full text by one reviewer. As a result, 37 papers entered the study. The selected papers were then thoroughly checked by the reviewers for the desired data.

The included studies were reviewed to extract the following information: types of technologies used in each paper, challenges and limitations faced around the world (both developed and developing countries). It also provided recommendations made by reviewed studies as solutions to the mentioned challenges.

This review unveils that there are few suitable policies and strategies simplifying technology use in managing crisis like pandemics even in countries that do not lack infrastructures or equipment. This study can present a starting point as it identifies the most utilized technologies and existing limitations on the way and offers practical recommendations to conquer them.