ABSTRACT
Background: The use of Telemedicine is growing, and its application in palliative medicine may facilitate patient care and be a solution to the growing pressures on hospital services in these pandemic times. Aim: The main objective of this review is to describe the current use of telemedicine in palliative care and assess stakeholders' views on the initiatives that have been implemented worldwide regarding digital service standards. Materials and Methods: Articles published between 2010 and 2020 were identified through PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar searches. We used Arksey and O'Malley's five-step framework to delimit and guide the initial search results. Results: The search identified 291 articles, of which 16 are included in this review. The selected studies were sufficiently detailed to allow their evaluation and answer our research questions. In addition, Telemedicine was used for patient and caregiver support and professional education. Conclusions: The use of Telemedicine for patient and caregiver support and professional education. Telemedicine empowers patients and increases their functional capacity. The imperative need to dictate implementation policies and ethical issues are some of the pending questions. In countries where a Telemedicine project has been initiated, it is valued as a good option for continuity of care, but all those involved would like face-to-face contact first, even if it is not mandatory.
