Several national guidelines from the US and Canada suggest best practices, but they date from the pre-Covid-19 era of telemedicine and telehealth

I. BACKGROUND

A. Definitions - Different meanings of telemedicine & telehealth

There are multiple definitions that distinguish telemedicine and telehealth. Examples appear below. Given the variety of possible definitions, it is a good idea to carefully review all remote, telecom-enabled care options and agree on terminologies on a client-by-client basis as part of visioning and programming definition. This review will use “telemedicine” throughout.

1.

The HIMMS 2017 Review: a. Telemedicine is provider-provider interaction b. Telehealth is provider-patient interactions 2. The American Telemedicine Association

a.

b. Telemedicine is telecommunications to support patient status No definition of telehealth

3. HRSA/CMS a. Telemedicine and telehealth are interchangeable: supporting distance care, education, and health promotion

4. WHO a. Telehealth delivers care outside of traditional facilities. b. Telehealth uses technology to overcome distance and increase healthcare access.

5. American Association of Family Physicians a. Telemedicine is medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance. It is a physicianpatient interaction. b. Telehealth is the broad description of using technologies to provide services and care from afar.

6. FGI Guidelines a. Defines telemedicine as including both patientprovider and provider-provider interactions related to healthcare when there is distance between the involved parties b. No definition of telehealth

7. CMS

CMS does not define “telehealth” and “telemedicine” per se. CMS terminology can be adduced from telemedicine engagements for which Medicare