Telehealth, Telemedicine, or Digital Health?
Entities use “telehealth” and “telemedicine” interchangeably or recognize them as two distinct terms. “Telemedicine” is considered the more granular term referring to clinical patient care. Generally, the larger umbrella term of telehealth encompasses health education, administration, and public health. The term “digital health” is most commonly used as an overarching term that includes both “telehealth” and “telemedicine” as subterms.
Interchangeability of “Telehealth” And “Telemedicine”
Legislators and policymakers are more likely to use the terms interchangeably rather than defining a distinction between the terms, which could lead to confusion when putting laws and policies into practice.