Table 2

Benefits, challenges and barriers of telehealth technology in lung transplantation

Main theme	Subtheme	For transplant team members/clinicians/healthcare providers	Patients
Benefits	Accessibility	Providing 24-hour access to patient data Direct communication with patients Timely detection and action for specific conditions which require quick attention Provides near real-time patient supervision	Real-time access to the transplant team Preventing the unnecessary transfer Reduction of waiting time for access to care Reduced exposure to diseases Timely detection and action for specific conditions which require quick attention Reduces unnecessary visits Possibility of direct communication with patients
	Reducing costs and time	Better utilisation of medical resources such as equipment, medical staff and others	Saving transfer costs Saving time for travelling and reporting abnormal symptoms
	Shared decision-making and team collaboration	Simplifying the workflow Increasing the participation of nurses Ability to provide a standard of care Less healthcare resource utilisation	Benefit from different opinions of experts
Barriers and challenges	Technology	Need high-speed internet Familiarity with technology Interoperability problems Information confidentiality Data transfer network problems Data security problems
	Technology	High cost of developing and programming Technological hurdles	No access to computers or mobile phones No secure internet connection
	Human resources and health system problems	Resistance of healthcare providers to accepting and using telecardiology Reimbursement Concerns about patient mismanagement Increase the workload of clinicians Concerns about shared delivery of care with patients The need for a full-time nurse to manage the system and communicate with patients	Resistance of patients to accepting and using telecardiology Preference for a face-to-face visit