Background: People with lymphoedema are commonly required to self-manage their condition. Telehealth may offer a way for clinicians to support self-management. Aim: To explore clinicians’ and patients’ perspectives relating to telehealth for lymphoedema management. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 clinicians and 19 people with lymphoedema, in Australia. Data were coded independently by three coders, then grouped into themes. Data were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. Results: There were notable differences in the provision of lymphoedema care through the public and private health systems, as well as between different disciplines. Potential benefits of telehealth included providing education, improving access to specialised lymphoedema care, and remote monitoring. Limitations of telehealth were identified, including the difficulty of assessing lymphoedema remotely, challenges with technology and the security of sensitive information. Conclusions: Telehealth would be best used to deliver education to patients, provide supervisory support to non-specialist clinicians and to monitor patients’ self-management. Concerns about security of sensitive images and access to the appropriate technology would need to be addressed prior to implementation.
