Clinical Guidelines for Virtual Health Assessment and Care: A Scoping Review.
S Brownie, L Zarb, L Cochrane and 2 others
PMID 40195584WHAT IT FOUND
Clinically focused guidelines for virtual health assessment remain sparse despite widespread telehealth use.
Most existing resources prioritize technical logistics over patient care. Nurses and clinicians lack standardized frameworks for safe triage, physical examination, and follow-up in virtual settings.
Key findings
01Existing telehealth guidelines predominantly focus on technical, security, and environmental aspects rather than clinical patient care needs.
02There is a significant gap in standardized competency requirements and clinical guidelines for virtual health assessment across nursing and healthcare professions.
03Virtual assessment limits the clinician's ability to use touch and smell, requiring different skills and structured models compared to in-person care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The search was limited to English-language publications, potentially missing relevant guidelines from other regions. Commercial guidelines behind paywalls were excluded, meaning some practical resources used in private healthcare systems were not reviewed. Grey literature searches were limited to the first 100 headings on targeted websites, so some relevant organizational documents may have been missed. The review describes what guidelines exist but does not evaluate their effectiveness or safety in practice.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by Swinburne University of Technology.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the absence of published guidelines means virtual care is unsafe or unregulated. This review found that many clinical protocols exist in grey literature, internal organizational documents, or commercial platforms that were not publicly accessible.