Integrating Telemedicine into Iran's Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: A Narrative Review of Educational Needs, Benefits, Barriers, and Curriculum Gaps.

BACKGROUND: The increasing use of telemedicine has changed patterns of healthcare delivery and created new educational requirements for medical graduates. However, the extent to which telemedicine competencies have been incorporated into undergraduate medical education remains variable, including in Iran. This narrative review examines the available evidence on telemedicine education, including reported educational benefits, student and graduate awareness and competencies, implementation barriers, and considerations for integrating telemedicine-related competencies into undergraduate medical education in Iran. METHODS: This study was conducted as a narrative review. A targeted literature search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar between January and February 2026 to identify literature published from 2020 to 2026. Search concepts included telemedicine education, medical curriculum, awareness, attitudes, competencies, and barriers to implementation. Original studies, systematic reviews, and mixed-methods studies relevant to undergraduate medical education and telemedicine were considered. Given the narrative design, the search was intended to identify relevant evidence rather than provide a systematic or exhaustive synthesis of the literature. RESULTS: The reviewed literature suggests that telemedicine education may support students' preparedness for remote healthcare delivery, digital communication, interprofessional collaboration, and continuity of care during health-system disruptions. However, the evidence also identifies important limitations, including challenges related to remote clinical assessment, physical examination, diagnostic decision-making, faculty workload, infrastructure, privacy, and curriculum integration. Several studies report gaps in telemedicine-related knowledge, awareness, or practical skills among medical students and graduates, although these findings vary across populations and are frequently based on self-reported measures. In Iran, implementation may be further influenced by infrastructure, regulatory, cultural, and educational factors. International educational models provide potentially useful examples, but their direct applicability to the Iranian medical education system has not been established. CONCLUSION: The available evidence supports consideration of telemedicine-related competencies within undergraduate medical education, but the evidence base does not establish a single validated curriculum model for Iran. International experiences may inform curriculum development when adapted to the structure, educational progression, and scope of practice of Iranian medical students. Further research, including pilot implementation and prospective evaluation of telemedicine-specific competencies, is needed before broader curricular adoption.