{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,14]],"date-time":"2025-10-14T00:36:16Z","timestamp":1760402176655,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,15]],"date-time":"2022-01-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1642204800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Telemedicine (TM)\u2014the management of disease at a distance\u2014has potential usefulness for patients with advanced respiratory disease. Underscoring this potential is the dramatic expansion of its applications in clinical medicine. However, since clinical studies testing this intervention often provide heterogeneous results, its role in the medical management of respiratory disorders remains inconclusive. A major problem in establishing TM\u2019s effectiveness is that it is not a single intervention; rather, it includes a number of divergent diagnostic and therapeutic modalities\u2014and each must be tested separately. Reflecting the discord between the need for further documentation of its approaches and effectiveness and its rapid utilization without this needed information, a major challenge is the lack of international guidelines for its integration, regulation, operational plans, and guidance for professionals. Tailored TM, with increased flexibility to address differing healthcare contexts, has the potential to improve access to and quality of services while reducing costs and direct input by health professionals. We should view TM as a tool to aid healthcare professionals in managing their patients with respiratory diseases rather than as a stand-alone substitute to traditional medical care. As such, TM is a means rather than an end.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life12010122","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,16]],"date-time":"2022-01-16T20:45:21Z","timestamp":1642365921000},"page":"122","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Telemedicine as a Means to an End, Not an End in Itself"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9389-7915","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michele","family":"Vitacca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Respiratory Rehabilitation Unit of the Institute of Lumezzane, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, 25064 Lumezzane, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7387-505X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simonetta","family":"Scalvini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiac Rehabilitation and Continuity of Care Units of the Institute of Lumezzane, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, 25064 Lumezzane, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-0009.2008.00522.x","article-title":"Population Causes and Consequences of Leading Chronic Diseases: A Comparative Analysis of Prevailing Explanations","volume":"86","author":"Stuckler","year":"2008","journal-title":"Milbank Q."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"(2015, October 22). 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