A Gender Perspective on Telemedicine. Early Results from the National Cancer Institute of Aviano Experience

During the COVID-19 pandemic, with its mandated social distancing rules, telemedicine and remote visits stood as the only option for continuing to meet patients' ambulatory care needs without requir-ing vulnerable people to travel back and to the hospital. Telemedicine is gaining traction in a variety of clinical fields, including pain medicine and oncology. Women account for two out of every three chronic pain patients. The literature has also considered several women vulnerable patients since they frequently need to care for their families and careers while undergoing chronic pain or oncologi-cal treatment. The same literature highlights the massive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women workers and patients. The purpose of this article is to explore how this new paradigm can improve women's health, facilitating their work-life balance while sick. The research employs a case study approach, starting with The National Cancer Institute of Aviano's "Doctor @ Home" (D@H) initiative. While telemedicine is receiving more attention in the international clinical and management literature, there is still much to learn in practice. The article expands on the gender perspective on e-health, viewing it as a potential opportunity for patients, practitioners, and entrepreneurs. The co-production of care and the co-learning approach are the two fundamental factors of the program. Although the D@H initiative is still in its infancy, the study provides new perspectives about an inno-vative telemedicine program that focuses primarily on female patients. Its techniques and methodol-ogies may be easily replicable by other healthcare organizations, as telemedicine appears to have a bright future even in a COVID-free new normal.