Telehealth Technology Research Articles

Changes to telehealth practices in primary care in New Brunswick (Canada): A comparative study pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth technologies were used in the primary health care setting in New Brunswick as a means to continue providing care to patients while following public health guidelines. This study aimed to measure these changes and examine if they improved timely access to primary care. A secondary goal was to identify which telehealth technologies were deemed sustainable by primary care providers.MethodsThis was a comparative study on the use of telehealth technology before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between April 2020 and November 2020, 114 active primary care providers (family physicians or nurse practitioners) responded to the online survey.ResultsThe findings illustrated an increase in the use of telehealth technologies. The use of phone consultations increased by 122%, from 43.9% pre-pandemic to 97.6% during the pandemic (p < 0.001). The use of virtual consultation (19.3% pre-pandemic vs. 41.2% during the pandemic, p < 0.001), emails and texts also increased during the pandemic. Whereas the more structural organizational tools (electronic medical charts and reservation systems) remained stable. However, those changes did not coincide with a significant improvement to timely access to care during the pandemic. Many participants (40.1%) wanted to keep phone consultations, and 21.9% of participants wanted to keep virtual consultations as part of their long-term practice.InterpretationThe observed increase in the use of telehealth technologies may be sustainable, but it has not significantly improved timely access to primary care in New Brunswick.

Nurse practitioners’ perception of temporary full practice authority during a COVID-19 surge: A qualitative study

BackgroundAt the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, 22 state governors temporarily waived physician supervision of nurse practitioners to expand access to health care during the state of emergency. ObjectiveWe examined the nurse practitioner perception of the simultaneous scope of practice changes and the exigent pandemic demands during the initial COVID-19 surge in Massachusetts. MethodsQualitative descriptive design using content analysis of open-ended responses to a web-based survey of Massachusetts nurse practitioners conducted in May & June 2020. ResultsSurvey response rate was 40.6 percent (N = 389). Content analysis identified four themes including: 1) State waivers enabled more control over practice and more expedited care, 2) State waiver did not change practice either because of pre-established independence or employers not changing policy, 3) Perception of nurse practitioner role as both versatile and disposable and 4) Telehealth increased access to care and created an autonomous setting. ConclusionsAlthough findings suggest fewer barriers in some areas, the temporary removal of state-level restrictions alone is not sufficient to achieve immediate full scope of practice for nurse practitioners. There is a need for regulatory frameworks that optimize the capacity of the advanced practice nursing workforce to respond to global health emergencies. US-based policymakers and healthcare organizations should revise outdated scope of practice policies and capitalize on telehealth technology to utilize the full extent of nurse practitioners. Likewise, nursing leaders should be a voice for nurse practitioners to more effectively and safely maximize the nurse practitioner contribution during emergency responses. In countries where the role is under development, regulators can leverage these findings to establish modernized nurse practitioner scope of practice policies from the outset.

Telehealth in Management of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

COVID-19 has created major health-related, economic, and social challenges in societies, and its high contagion has dramatically altered access to healthcare. COVID-19 management can be improved by the use of telehealth. This study aimed to examine different telehealth technologies in the management of COVID-19 disease in the domains of surveillance, diagnosis, screening, treatment, monitoring, tracking, and follow-up and investigate the challenges to the application of telehealth in COVID-19 management. This scoping review was conducted based on Arksey and O’Malley's framework. Searches were performed in Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases to examine the evidence on the effectiveness of telehealth in COVID-19 management. Eventually, 36 articles were selected based on the inclusion criteria. The majority of these studies (33%) were conducted in China. Most services offered via telehealth focused on surveillance, tracking, and follow-up, in that order. Moreover, the most frequently used technologies were social networks, web-based apps, and mobile apps, respectively. The use of telehealth in COVID-19 disease management plays a key role in surveillance, diagnosis, screening, treatment, monitoring, tracking, and follow-up.

Impact of mobile health and telehealth technology on medication adherence of stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background Stroke patients have low medication adherence after discharge, which leads to a high recurrence rate and poor disease control. Various strategies have been explored to enhance medication adherence in this patient population. Aim To evaluate the effects of mobile health (mHealth)and telehealth technology on medication adherence in stroke patients. Method All English studies that met the inclusion criteria published before September 2021 were obtained from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Two researchers independently screened articles, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of the included studies. All articles were about randomized controlled trials. Medication adherence was used as the outcome index of this review. Random or fixed-effect models were used in statistical methods. I2 statistics were used to evaluate heterogeneity. Results A total of ten studies met the inclusion criteria, covering 2151 stroke patients. Compared with the Usual Care group, the medication adherence scores of the mHealth technology group were better (standard mean deviation 0.67, 95% confidence interval, CI [0.49, 0.85], P < 0.001). The medication adherence ratio of the mHealth technology group was higher (odds ratio, OR, 2.81, 95% CI [1.35, 5.85], P = 0.006). Subgroup analysis showed that application and messaging interventions were more effective than the telephone call intervention (OR 4.05, 95% CI [2.10, 7.80], P < 0.001). The shorter the interval of the intervention, the better the medication adherence of patients (OR 4.24, 95% CI [2.30, 7.81], P < 0.001). Conclusion Compared with Usual Care, mHealth can effectively improve the medication adherence of stroke patients.

Barriers and facilitators to best care for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Australia.

In Australia, little is known about delivery of care for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This study examined the organization of IPF care across Australia, how it aligns with guidance for best practice, and identified barriers and facilitators to best care. Data on the organization of IPF care in Australia were collected from public hospitals using a study-specific questionnaire between February and July 2020. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with respiratory physicians from around Australia between April and December 2020. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was undertaken. Almost all hospitals (n= 38, 97%) held multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) for diagnosing IPF, with 90% of multidisciplinary teams including expert respiratory physicians and radiologists; however, rheumatologists, interstitial lung disease nurses and a histopathologist were often not available. More than 90% of institutions had access to oxygen therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation and advanced care planning, but access to psychological support and clinical trials was limited (53% and 58%, respectively). Fifteen respiratory physicians (27% regional) were interviewed. Approaches to diagnosis, treatment and access to referral services were generally consistent with best practice guidance; however, regional respondents reported barriers related to inadequate staffing, lack of a nurse coordinator, inadequate access to clinical trials and funding models. Telehealth technologies were perceived as facilitators to best care. Clinical management of IPF in Australia generally aligns with best practice guidance, but there may be some inequity of access to specialist services, particularly in regional areas, that should be addressed to ensure optimal care for all.

Features of health care interventions associated with reduced services and spending.

This study examines 14 independent and diverse health care interventions funded under the second round of Health Care Innovation Awards by CMS to determine if any organizational, model, or implementation features were strongly associated with the programs' estimated impacts on total expenditures, hospitalizations, or emergency department visits. We estimated program impacts using awardee-specific difference-in-differences models based on Medicare and Medicaid enrollment and claims data for treatment and matched comparison groups from 2012 to 2018. We used 2 analytic approaches to identify program features associated with favorable impacts. The first method identified program characteristics that were common among programs that had estimated reductions in costs and service use and uncommon among those that did not. The second approach compared median impacts among awardees with a given distinguishing feature with median impacts among awardees that lacked the characteristic. Of the 23 program features examined, 7 were associated with favorable estimated impacts: 3 intervention components (behavioral health, telehealth, and health information technology) and 4 program design and organizational characteristics (having prior experience implementing similar programs, targeting patients with substantial nonmedical needs in addition to medical problems, being focused on individual patient care rather than transforming provider practice, and using nonclinical staff as frontline providers of the intervention). Innovative health care service delivery models with 2 or more of these 7 identified features were more likely than programs without them to reduce Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries' needs for costly health care services.

Evolution of Telehealth Technology, Evaluations, and Therapy: Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology Services.

Telehealth services experienced exponential growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey examined the resulting evolution in the technology, connectivity, implementation of services, and attitudes of pediatric speech-language pathology clinicians using synchronous videoconferencing. The Telehealth Services: Pediatric Provider Survey participants were 259 speech-language clinicians in a variety of employment settings from across the country and abroad. Analyses identified telehealth barriers eliminated and those that persisted during the pandemic, advantages, and disadvantages of remote delivery of evaluation and treatment services, the most common telehealth technology used by clinicians and their clients to access care, and clinicians' predictions about the optimization and future of telehealth. Elimination of regulatory and insurance hurdles allowed children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds living in rural, suburban, and urban areas access to telehealth. Telehealth technology shifted from computers with external hardware and specialized software to commercially available equipment, such as handheld portable devices with built-in audiovisual components and publicly available videoconferencing platforms. However, connectivity of these devices continued to be problematic, and lack of technology prevented some children from accessing care. Judgments about the appropriateness and effectiveness of evaluations and treatments varied based on the age and communication disorder of a child. Although some participants expressed uncertainty about the effectiveness of telehealth compared with in-person care, telehealth was widely recognized as a viable delivery method. Although clinicians reported many advantages of telehealth, some barriers identified reported prior to COVID-19 still persist. Clinicians anticipate that new developments have the potential to continue improving telehealth service delivery, bolstering the viability of telehealth long after the COVID-19 pandemic is gone. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16959361.

Pain coping skills training un-locks patient-centered pain care during the COVID- 19 lockdown

BackgroundIn 2020, the COVID-19 virus sparked a crisis constituting a nationwide public health emergency that rapidly altered the provision of healthcare services for all Americans. Infectious disease mitigation led to widespread lockdowns of perceived nonessential services, programs, and non-emergent healthcare interventions. This lockdown exacerbated the public health dyad of uncontrolled pain and the opioid epidemic, which was already in a crisis state. Current literature supports the management of uncontrolled pain with a biopsychosocial approach, empowering patients to explore self-care to enhance activities of daily living. Pain Coping Skills Training (PCST) delivers real-life strategies that improve quality of life and strengthen self-efficacy. Self-efficacy has been identified as a patient outcome measure that demonstrates improved patient-perceived function and quality of life despite pain intensity. Studies have shown that nurse practitioners (APRN) are well-positioned to provide PCST to chronic pain sufferers. MethodsA pretest-posttest design was utilized for this project to enhance pain self- efficacy through an APRN-led community-based intervention. InterventionCommunity-dwelling adults treated in a specialty pain management practice were self-selected to participate in a 6-week telehealth delivered PCST Program. This APRN delivered program presented basic pain education and a broad range of evidence-based nonpharmacologic pain management self-care tools. The primary outcome was improved Pain Self-efficacy measured with the pain self-efficacy questionnaire (PSEQ), with secondary outcomes of improved perceived pain intensity and function measured with the pain, enjoyment, and general activity (PEG) scale tracked weekly. ResultsBaseline PSEQ and weekly PEG scores were obtained and compared to scores after the program. Collateral data points included confidence in using complementary and alternative nonpharmacologic interventions, satisfaction with the program, and a qualitative patient statement regarding pre-and post-intervention participation. ConclusionsThis project concluded that a Nurse Practitioner delivered PCST program via telehealth technology could provide community-dwelling adults with an intervention that improves pain self-efficacy, enhances self-reported PEG measures, and meets the social distancing requirements that continue to impact patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Systematic Review of COVID-19 Treatment and Management

COVID-19 is an emerging infectious disease, first reported in Wuhan, China. The deadly disease currently known as SARS-CoV-2 can affect everyone regardless of race, gender or age. However, people suffering from underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic diseases are at the biggest risk for developing more intense symptoms and complications. The global challenge in the containment of COVID-19 has led to a massive death rate and resulted in many economic, social, and health burdens around the world, leading to the question of the dynamic of COVID-19 management treatment. Therefore, this paper aimed to systematically review different past and present studies to develop a possible solution on how COVID-19 can be managed and treated. The articles were searched from five online databases: Science Direct, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus. The systematic review was guided by the guidelines presented in the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) from 2019–2021. Thirteen articles were included after reviewing seventy-two articles. Three hypotheses guided the study; clinical management, telehealth technology, and performance intelligence as an effective way of managing and controlling COVID-19. The study concludes there is no proven treatment for the virus yet, but clinical treatment, telehealth technology, and performance intelligence can effectively manage and control the virus. It also recommends policymakers should support the development and the implementation of performance intelligence based on the evidence and standardized data available for effective and pandemic resilience health care systems that will address the control and management of the virus.&#x0D; Keywords: SARS2, SARS-CoV-2, Novel Coronavirus, 2019nCoV, COVID-19.

An economic evaluation of teledermatology care delivery for chronic skin diseases.

Aim: Analyze the impact of nationwide implementation of teledermatological care for psoriasis. Methods: Develop a Markov model that estimates theimpact of telehealth technology for treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis on health and healthcare expenditures compared with in-person clinical care. Results: Lower medical costs by US$1.5 billion and total social costs of US$4.3 billion over 5 years. Patients save more than 67 million hours in work absenteeism and travel time, valued at US$598 million. Employers save US$1.2 billion over 5years due to decreased employee absenteeism. Conclusion: National implementation of telehealth for psoriasis care has the potential to substantially reduce both formal healthcare costs and informal costs for families and patients, while maintaining equivalent clinical outcomes as traditional in-person care.

A Pediatric Telehealth Simulation for Prelicensure and Advanced Practice Nursing Students.

Patients who are remote, underserved, or require specialized care services are not always able to seek appropriate care when necessary. Telehealth technology allows health care providers to connect virtually with their patients to provide safe and personalized care. To prepare future nurses and nurse practitioners for the use of technology, educators are responsible for integrating telehealth education into the curriculum. This article presents a clinical simulated approach that includes an interprofessional telehealth experience with prelicensure and nurse practitioner students within a pediatric focused simulation.

Simulating Telehealth Experiences in the Neonatal Care Environment: Improving Access to Care.

Telehealth in the neonatal environment can improve remote medical care and access to specialized care and training eliminating barriers for effective health care delivery. Clinicians are utilizing telehealth in their practice to provide specialized care and training in areas that have little access. Educating health care clinicians on the basics of telehealth is an essential component of clinical training programs. Use of simulation-based telehealth experiences as part of that training can provide hands-on learning in a safe, realistic environment. Simulation can prepare health care teams in using telehealth technology in managing patient care, postdischarge care, and specialized care programs.

Protocol of a Systematic Review on Telemedicine Solutions in COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: On March 20, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in most countries worldwide as a pandemic. COVID-19 is mainly disseminated through human-to-human transmission route via direct contact and respiratory droplets. Telehealth and/or telemedicine technologies are beneficial methods that could be employed to deal with pandemic situation of communicable infections. The purpose of this proposed systematic review study is to sum up the functionalities, applications, and technologies of telemedicine during COVID-19 outbreak.Material and Methods: This review will be carried out in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) reporting guidelines. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for related articles. Randomized and non-randomized controlled trials published in English in scientific journals were identified to be evaluated for eligibility. Articles conducted on telemedicine services (TMS) during COVID-19 outbreak (2019-2020) were identified to be evaluated.Results: The literature search for related articles in PubMed and Scopus databases led to the identification and retrieval of a total of 1118 and 485 articles, respectively. After eliminating duplicate articles, title and abstract screening process was performed for the remaining 1440 articles. The current study findings are anticipated to be used as a guide by researchers, decision makers, and managers to design, implement, and assess TMS during COVID-19 crisis.Conclusion: As far as we know, this systematic review is conducted to comprehensively evaluate TM methods and technologies developed with the aim of controlling and managing COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights important applications of telemedicine in pandemic conditions, which could be employed by future health systems in controlling and managing communicable infections when an outbreak occurs.

Cancer Provider and Survivor Experiences With Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to rapid shifts in cancer survivorship care, including the widespread use of telehealth. Given the swift transition and limited data on preferences and experiences around telehealth, we surveyed oncology providers and post-treatment survivors to better understand experiences with the transition to telehealth. We distributed provider (MD, PA or NP, nurse, navigator, and social worker) and survivor surveys through the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer in mid-October 2020. Survivor surveys were also disseminated through patient advocacy organizations. We included questions on demographics, experiences with telehealth, and preferences for future telehealth utilization. Among N = 607 providers and N = 539 cancer survivors, there was overwhelmingly more support from providers than from survivors for delivery of various types of survivorship care via telehealth and greater comfort with telehealth technologies. The only types of appointments deemed appropriate for survivorship care by both > 50% of providers and survivors were discussion of laboratory results or imaging, assessment and/or management of cancer treatment symptoms, nutrition counseling, and patient navigation support. Only a quarter of survivors reported increased access to health care services (25.5%), and 32.0% reported that they would use telehealth again. Although there have been drastic changes in technological capabilities and billing reimbursement structures for telehealth, there are still concerns around delivery of a broad range of survivorship care services via telehealth, particularly from the patient perspective. Still, offering telehealth services, where endorsed by providers and if available and acceptable to cancer survivors, may provide more efficient and accessible care following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Utilization of Telehealth Solutions for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder Using Buprenorphine: A Scoping Review.

Background: A scoping review was conducted to examine the breadth of evidence related to telehealth innovations being utilized in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) with buprenorphine and its effect on patient outcomes and health care delivery. Materials and Methods: The authors systematically searched seven databases and websites for peer-reviewed and gray literature related to telehealth solutions for buprenorphine treatment published between 2008 and March 18, 2021. Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts for articles that met the inclusion criteria, according to the scoping review study protocol. The authors included studies if they specifically examined telehealth interventions aimed at improving access to and usage of buprenorphine for OUD. Results: After screening 371 records, the authors selected 69 for full review. These studies examined the effect of telehealth on patient satisfaction, treatment retention rates, and buprenorphine accessibility and adherence. Conclusion: According to the reviewed literature, incorporation of telehealth technology with medication-assisted treatment for OUD is associated with higher patient satisfaction, comparable rates of retention, an overall reduction in health care costs, and an increase in both access to and usage of buprenorphine. This has been made possible through the expansion of telehealth technologies and a substantial push toward relaxed federal guidelines, both of which were quickly escalated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research is needed to fully quantify the effect of these factors; however, the results appear promising thus far and should urge policymakers to consider making these temporary policy changes permanent.

Pulmonary rehabilitation in a postcoronavirus disease 2019 world: feasibility, challenges, and solutions.

Purpose of reviewPulmonary rehabilitation improves clinical outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Traditional centre-based (in-person) pulmonary rehabilitation was largely shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing many centres to rapidly shift to remote home-based programs in the form of telerehabilitation (tele-pulmonary rehabilitation). This review summarizes the recent evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of remote pulmonary rehabilitation programs, and their implications for the delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation in a postpandemic world.Recent findingsA number of innovative adaptations to pulmonary rehabilitation in response to COVID-19 have been reported, and the evidence supports tele-pulmonary rehabilitation as a viable alternative to traditional centre-based pulmonary rehabilitation. However, these studies also highlight the challenges that must be surmounted in order to see its widespread adoption.SummaryThere are outstanding questions regarding the optimal model for tele-pulmonary rehabilitation. In the post-COVID-19 world, a ‘hybrid’ model may be more desirable, with some components held in person and others via telehealth technology. This would be determined by the infrastructure and expertise of individual centres, and the needs of their patients. In order to achieve a truly patient-centred pulmonary rehabilitation program, high-quality studies addressing these outstanding questions, as well as multidisciplinary collaboration, are required.

Telehealth: A Useful Tool for the Management of Nutrition and Exercise Programs in Pediatric Obesity in the COVID-19 Era.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of policies that mandate various restrictions on daily life, including social distancing, the closure of public services and schools, and movement limitations. Even though these restrictive measures decreased the COVID-19 spread, they may have detrimental effects on various lifestyle components such as physical inactivity, sedentary behavior, and dietary habits, influencing the maintenance of weight and contributing to obesity among children and adolescents. The coexistence of childhood obesity and COVID-19 and changes in the bioecological environment have put children and adolescents at increased risk for developing obesity and exacerbating the severity of this disorder. The use of telehealth technology is a modern approach useful for the delivery of health care services by health care professionals, where distance is a critical factor. Telehealth is effective in promoting increased self-monitoring and behavioral change, and provides the opportunity to perform online nutritional support and exercise training programs to promote a healthy lifestyle and reduce sedentary behaviors in children and adolescents. Telehealth, including tele-exercise and tele-nutrition, has the potential to address many of the key challenges in providing health services, including in patients with obesity during the COVID-19 outbreak. This narrative review aims to describe the role of telehealth as an opportunity in the management of pediatric obesity in the COVID-19 era, and to deliver nutrition and exercise programs for the maintenance of health.

Infrastructuring Telehealth in (In)Formal Patient-Doctor Contexts

Telehealth technologies have long remained on the peripheries of healthcare systems that prioritize in-person healthcare provision. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has foregrounded the need to formalize telehealth infrastructures, particularly teleconsultations, to ensure continued care provision through remote mechanisms. In the Indian healthcare context, prior to the pandemic, teleconsultations have been used to substitute for in-person consultations when possible, and to facilitate remote follow-up care without exacerbating pressures on limited personal resources. We conducted a survey and interview study to investigate doctors' and patients' perceptions, experiences, and expectations around teleconsultations, and how these contribute towards supplementing healthcare infrastructures in India, focusing on the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we describe the efforts of our participants towards infrastructuring telehealth, examining how technologies were adapted to support teleconsultation, how expectations shifted, and how the dynamics of caregiving evolved through this transition. We present implications for the future design and uptake of telehealth, arguing that COVID-19's impact on teleconsultations lays the foundation for new telehealth infrastructures for more inclusive and equitable care.

Current Surgical Trainee Perceptions and Experiences in Telehealth.

Introduction:Broad expansion of telehealth technologies has been implemented during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to allow for physical distancing and limitation of viral transmission within health care facilities. Although telehealth has been studied for its impact on patients, payors, and practitioners, its educational impact is largely unstudied. To better understand the trainee experience and perception of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a survey of the membership of the American College of Surgeons Resident and Associate Society (RAS).Methods:An anonymous survey was sent to members of RAS. Descriptive analysis was used to report experiences and perceptions. Chi-square analysis was used to compare cohorts with and without exposure to telehealth.Results:Of the 465 RAS respondents, 292 (62.8%) reported knowledge of telehealth technologies at their institutions. The majority of these respondents experienced a decrease in in-person clinic volume (94.4%) and an associated increase in virtual clinic volume (95.7%) related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trainee integration into telehealth workflows increased drastically from prepandemic levels (11% vs. 54.5%, p < 0.001). Likelihood of trainee exposure to telehealth was associated with university-based training programs or larger program size. Trainees demonstrated a desire for more integration and development of curricula.Conclusions:These data serve as the first description of surgical trainee experience with, and opinion of, telehealth. Trainees recognize the importance of their integration and training in telehealth. These results should be used to guide the development of workflows and curricula that integrate trainees into telemedicine clinics.

Effectiveness of Telehealth Interventions for Women With Postpartum Depression: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundPostpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent mental health problem with serious adverse consequences for affected women and their infants. Clinical trials have found that telehealth interventions for women with PPD result in increased accessibility and improved treatment effectiveness. However, no comprehensive synthesis of evidence from clinical trials by systematic review has been conducted.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of telehealth interventions in reducing depressive symptoms and anxiety in women with PPD. To enhance the homogeneity and interpretability of the findings, this systematic review focuses on PPD measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CNKI, and Wanfang were electronically searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of telehealth interventions for women with PPD from inception to February 28, 2021. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two researchers. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software.ResultsFollowing the search, 9 RCTs with a total of 1958 women with PPD were included. The EPDS (mean difference=–2.99, 95% CI –4.52 to –1.46; P<.001) and anxiety (standardized mean difference=–0.39, 95% CI –0.67 to –0.12; P=.005) scores were significantly lower in the telehealth group compared with the control group. Significant subgroup differences were found in depressive symptoms according to the severity of PPD, telehealth technology, specific therapy, and follow-up time (P<.001).ConclusionsTelehealth interventions could effectively reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety in women with PPD. However, better designed and more rigorous large-scale RCTs targeting specific therapies are needed to further explore the potential of telehealth interventions for PPD.Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42021258541; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=258541