Telehealth and Precision Prevention: Bridging the Gap for Individualised Health Strategies

Edwin Chi Ho Lau*, Vije Kumar Rajput, Inga Hunter, Jose F. Florez-Arango, Prasad Ranatunga, Klaus D. Veil, Gumindu Kulatunga, Shashi Gogia, Craig Kuziemsky, Marcia Ito, Usman Iqbal, Sheila John, Sriram Iyengar, Anandhi Ramachandran, Arindam Basu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Introduction:
Precision prevention has shown an upsurge in popularity among epidemiologists in both developed and developing countries in the past decade.

Objectives:
Initially practiced in oncology, this approach is increasingly adopted in public health to guard against other common non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It aims to tailor preventive measures according to each individual's unique characteristics, such as genomic data, socio-demographic features, environmental factors, and cultural background.

Methods:
Healthcare information technologies, including telehealth and artificial intelligence (AI), have served as a vital catalyst in the expansion of this field in the past decade. Under this framework, real-time contemporaneous clinical data is collected via a wide range of digital health devices, such as telehealth monitors, wearables, etc., and then analyzed by AI or non-AI prediction models, which then generate preventive recommendations.

Results:
The utilization of telehealth technologies in the precision prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is a very illustrative application. This paper explores these topics as well as certain limitations and unintended consequences (UICs) and outlines telehealth as a core enabler of precision prevention as well as public health.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)64-69
Number of pages6
JournalYearbook of medical informatics
Volume33
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Apr 2025
Externally publishedYes

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