Telemedicine Adoption for Managing Chronic and Rare Diseases in Indonesia During and Beyond the COVID-19 Era: Qualitative Study.

WHY IT MATTERS

If you have a rare disease in Indonesia or a similar region with limited specialist access, this research shows telemedicine could help you see doctors without traveling long distances — but you should know about potential barriers like internet reliability and costs before relying on it.

A study in Indonesia looked at how doctors and patients used video visits (telemedicine) to manage long-term and rare diseases during COVID-19. The research found that telemedicine helped people get care when hospitals were hard to reach, but there are challenges like internet problems and cost that need to be fixed for it to keep working after the pandemic ends.

Telemedicine Adoption for Managing Chronic and Rare Diseases in Indonesia During and Beyond the COVID-19 Era: Qualitative Study. Abstract: Telemedicine has emerged as a valuable tool for improving health care delivery, especially in low-resource and geographically isolated regions. In Indonesia, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for digital health solutions to manage chronic diseases and improve access to specialists. This study aimed to examine the rapid adoption of telemedicine in Indonesia, focusing on its role in managing chronic and rare diseases and highlighting both its benefits and challenges to long-term viability during and post pandemic. A qualitative study was used, following the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research 32-item checklist and guided by established theories and frameworks. Recruitment followed a systematic multistage procedure suited to the context of Indonesia, an upper-mid Authors: Pratama et al. Journal: Journal of medical Internet research MeSH: Indonesia, Humans, COVID-19, Telemedicine, Qualitative Research, Chronic Disease, Rare Diseases, Female, SARS-CoV-2, Male