Telehealth in palliative care in the UK: a review of the evidence

We reviewed telehealth applications which were being used in palliative care settings in the UK. Electronic database searches (Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo and Embase), searches of the grey literature and cited author searches were conducted. In total, 111 papers were identified and 21 documents were included in the review. Telehealth was being used by a range of health professionals in oncology care settings that included specialist palliative care, hospices, primary care settings, nursing homes and hospitals as well as patients and carers. The most common applications were: out-of-hours telephone support, advice services for palliative care patients, carers and health professionals, videoconferencing for interactive case discussions, consultations and assessments, and training and education of palliative care and other healthcare staff. The review suggests that current technology is usable and acceptable to patients and health professionals in palliative care settings. However, there are several challenges in integrating telehealth into routine practice.