Laila Rahmah, Athaya Febriantyo Purnomo, Maryam Alizadeh, Soraya Shareef Askari, Nurul Cholifah Lutfiana, Mundakir Mundakir, Muhammad Anas, Sukadiono Sukadiono, Lee Ingle, Fuat Ince, Gholamreza Hassanzadeh, Ardalan Shariat
Background: Telehealth interventions have proven essential in maintaining healthcare delivery during the global pandemic. However, its broader adoption within different healthcare settings has been impacted by inconsistent and non-standardized terminology, which poses challenges to global implementation and stakeholder communication. This article addresses these barriers by analyzing telehealth-related terms and developing a detailed clinical guide to aid inter-professional health educators in adopting standardized terminology, improving clarity, and fostering collaboration. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used, comprising four phases. Phase 1 included weekly online journal club sessions (February to August 2024) focused on digital health topics, where relevant terms were discussed and extracted. Phase 2 involved detailed transcription analysis to identify telehealth-related terms based on their frequency of use and relevance to digital health. Phase 3 was a systematic literature review to contextualize and refine the identified terms. Phase 4 entailed expert validation, where five digital health professionals reviewed the proposed terminology and provided refinements. Additionally, terms were cross-referenced with the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database to evaluate their existing definitions. Results: A total of 314 telehealth terms were identified through discussions in the International Journal Club in Digital Health (IJC DH) and a literature review. Approximately 90.44% of these terms were sourced from 12 journal club sessions, covering topics such as Digital Health, Digital Psychiatry, Neurorehabilitation, and Robotic Surgery. The literature review contributed 30 unique terms, with further analysis revealing that 73% of the terms were not defined in the MeSH database. This finding underscores the evolving nature of telehealth and the need for terminology standardization. Expert reviews validated most proposed definitions, though specific terms required additional discussion. Conclusions: The resulting standardized terminology guide enhances inter-professional collaboration in telehealth by providing clear and consistent definitions. This guide reduces miscommunication, facilitates interdisciplinary research and practice, and can be integrated into educational curricula to prepare future healthcare professionals for the complexities of digital health. By addressing terminology gaps, this study supports the advancement of telehealth education and improves patient care outcomes. © The Author(s) 2025.
Department of Digital Health, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, East Java, Surabaya, Indonesia; Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Malang, Indonesia; Department of Medical Education, Medical School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Health Professions Education Research Center, Department of Medical Education, Education Development Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, East Java, Surabaya, Indonesia; School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, United Kingdom; Department of History of Medicine and Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey; Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
