Formed using the Greek prefix tele-, meaning ‘far off’, the words ‘telehealth’ and ‘telemedicine’ describe the reality of many healthcare professionals across Africa, who have sought to follow safety guidance while continuing to deliver diagnosis and care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Telehealth’ and ‘telemedicine’ are only a portion of the broader landscape of digital health, which also includes solutions to manage equipment and medicine supplies, or lifestyle applications for example.

Telehealth and telemedicine are often used interchangeably, but we make the following distinction:

• ‘Telehealth’ refers to the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to provide long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional healthrelated education, public health and health administration.
• ‘Telemedicine’ refers to the part of telehealth that is concerned with the delivery of long-distance clinical health care. Allowing  healthcare professionals to connect with patients and exchange information digitally through online chat platforms, phone calls or video chats are an example of telemedicine.

The Chamber on Telehealth has been created to help healthcare professionals understand telehealth better, share best practices and identifying projects that could address current knowledge and technological gaps.

The action plan for this chamber under discussion. If you would like to participate in its formulation, consider joining our next event.