Table 1.

Advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine in emergency practice in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advantages		Disadvantages
Highlights	Reference	Highlights	Reference
Remote patients’ evaluation	[11,12,21,22,23,24]	Misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis because of lack of a physical examination	[55,56]
Reduction of the exposure to COVID-19 by limiting personal contact	[7,20,32,33]	Lack of learning of clinical, practical, and hands-on medical skills by medical staff and students	[49]
Triage acceleration	[6,11,12]	Lack of health care providers’ preparation and professional scepticism	[58,60]
Reduction of the overcrowding in EDs	[10]	Lack of patient readiness and low patient satisfaction	[58]
Saving personal protective equipment	[18,20]	No access to digital tools	[54]
Telemedical support of medical caregivers and decision-making processes	[16,17,30,31,50]	Problems with protecting the privacy and confidentiality of patient data	[61]
Fast communication with foreign-speaking patients	[21,22]	Lack of telehealth in the curricula study programs	[62]
Closer and permanent patient monitoring in ICUs and at home.	[25,26,28,29,36,37]	Regulatory, legal, and administrative barriers	[58,60,63]
Better coordination of emergency systems	[45]	Low financing for telehealth appointments	[63]
Supervision of healthcare providers	[34,52]	Huge costs of cybersecurity and the protection of personal health information	[61]
Virtual visitors—substitution of in-person visits by remote contact between family members	[35]	Difficulties in the creation of doctor-patient relationships.	[58]
Continuation of student and health care providers’ medical education and patient health education.	[45,46,47,48]	No possibility of assessing practical medical skills	[44,45,48]