In early 2020, the world was hit with the devastating news of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that caused a pandemic. During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), healthcare organizations had to grapple with the challenge of providing care to a socially distanced society in an attempt to reduce the transmission of disease, preserve the limited personal protective equipment (PPE) available, and minimize exposure to patients, providers, and the community. The PHE provided an opportunity for telehealth services to gain traction as previous restrictions on providing telehealth services were lifted to reduce barriers to healthcare access. The healthcare sector looked to telehealth technical platforms to continue to delivery of care to the community under a lockdown. Telehealth refers to the entire spectrum of activities used to deliver care at a distance without direct physical contact with the patient. Telehealth was effective in care delivery in various non-emergent medical
The advance in communications technology and devices have made wireless electronic communication possible in most parts of the world and at any time of the day. With healthcare trends moving towards patient-centered care which empowers patients and encourages patient-provider communications as a way to lower healthcare costs and improve health outcomes. The increase in internet access and the emergence of electronic health record has created new avenues for patients to play an active role in their care. Most Electronic Health Records (EHR) vendors have developed patient portals to help patients electronically communicate with their physicians or healthcare providers via smartphone applications or on a personal computer giving them the ability to access and securely share their medical records. This portal is known as the Patient Health Records (PHR). The Markle Foundation in 2004 initially defined PHR as “an electronic application through which individuals can access, manage, and sha