Technospatialities and telehealthcare: unfolding new spaces of visibility

The umbrella term 'telehealthcare' denotes an array of information and communication technology-based solutions for digitally connecting citizens with healthcare services. Guided by the conviction that bodies can be translated into digital data which may serve as the basis for clinical dec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Information, communication & society communication & society, 2016-06, Vol.19 (6), p.824-842
Main Author: Petersson, Jesper
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult care services
Annan hälsovetenskap
Annan samhällsbyggnadsteknik
Arrays
Citizens
Communication
Decisions
Design engineering
Digital data
e-health
Filosofi
Freedoms
Health care
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
Health problems
Health services
Human Computer Interaction
Human Geography
Hälso- och sjukvårdsorganisation, hälsopolitik och hälsoekonomi
independent living
Information Science
Knowledge
Knowledge management
Kulturgeografi
Medical decision making
Medical electronics
Medical Engineering
Medical Ethics
Medicine
Medicinsk etik
Medicinteknik
Människa-datorinteraktion (interaktionsdesign)
Older people
Other Civil Engineering
Other Health Sciences
patient empowerment
Patients
Philosophy
Physicians
smart home
Sociologi
Sociology
space
Space and time
Systemvetenskap
Technology
Telecommunications
Telekommunikation
telemonitoring
Visibility
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Description
Summary:The umbrella term 'telehealthcare' denotes an array of information and communication technology-based solutions for digitally connecting citizens with healthcare services. Guided by the conviction that bodies can be translated into digital data which may serve as the basis for clinical decisions made elsewhere, these designs are widely assumed to enable a mode of healthcare delivery which is independent of space and time. Addressing the increasing use of telehealthcare for personalized health monitoring targeting the growing populations of elderly and chronic-care patients, this paper suggests that such designs invariably unfold new spaces of visibility. Based on an analysis of articles published in a leading telehealthcare journal, I argue that these new visibilities do not provide a window onto something that is already there. Instead, such visibilities are shaped by the way techno-medical practices and knowledge production processes are intertwined with a specific politico-economic agenda. The paper explores differences with respect to the positioning of older people and chronic-care patients in relation to two versions of health monitoring. While each version represents an attempt to promote individual freedom, improve health outcomes and ensure a functioning healthcare system, contrasting rationales are involved and different types of spaces are being unfolded.
ISSN:1369-118X
1468-4462
1468-4462
DOI:10.1080/1369118X.2015.1061575