Turning to technology to change the way patients with chronic disorders communicate with their primary care team seems like a great idea. But the reality is that, at least as its used today, it's not accomplishing the original aim.

A British study of patients with chronic diseases equipped with telehealth technology to reduce the demands on their primary care providers failed to show any reduction. The research was published by BMC (Biomedcentral) Health Services Research and based on a long term study of more than 2,000 patients, half of them in a control group using no telehealth technology.

The researchers noted that most telehealth studies have focused on hospital patients, and that very few studies are available that investigate the impact of telehealth on patients and their primary care providers.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.