Exploring patient role from compliance to engagement in telemedicine: a Web of Science-based comparative bibliometric analysis across psychology and medicine

The implementation of telemedicine in healthcare management is expanding, highlighting the need to reflect on the evolving patient role within a patient-centered approach. As telemedicine necessitates different nuances of activation, a consensus on the definition of active patient role is lacking, despite extensive literature. This study examines the evolution of this concept and explores the divergences in different fields, specifically psychology and medicine. A bibliometric analysis assessed scientific productivity using Web of Science. Comparison of usage, frequencies, and term evolution over time between psychology and medicine was performed to systematically analyse the use of different terms related to patient role (e.g., engagement, adherence) in telemedicine services. A total of 591 documents were included (psychology: 320; medicine: 271; 1990–2023). Terms describing the patient role in telemedicine are heterogeneous in both fields, revealing subtle representations of the patient held by healthcare professionals. In psychology, “engagement” is the most used term, whereas in medicine, “adherence” persists as the predominant construct over time. However, the use of terms referring to a more active patient role is increasing in both fields, promoting close collaboration between patients and healthcare professionals in telemedicine.