Adoption and Use of Telecommunication for Rural Health Care. Abstract, Executive211 Summary and Final Report

摘要

This project studied the adoption and continued use of two types of telemedicine211u001e(consultations and continuing education) in 5 rural communities and 2 urban 211u001elocations in Texas. Board objectives included (1) identification of the processes 211u001ethat lead to adoption at the organizational level; (2) factors that influence 211u001econtinued use of telemedicine once it has been adopted; (3) the role of the 211u001ecommunity physician in adoption and continued use; and (4) the impact of the 211u001etechnology on patient's decisions to seek care. The case study method, involving 211u001eintensive retrospective interviews of decision makers, physicians, and patients, 211u001ewas used in order to obtain detailed data on the adoption of telemedicine. Key 211u001efindings include: (1) health care organizations are more likely to adopt 211u001etelemedicine if their members perceive gaps in the organizations' performance; 211u001ethis is particularly true when the capabilities of telemedicine overlap the 211u001eperformance gaps. (2) organizations whose members perceive that telemedicine has 211u001emany capabilities are more likely to adopt telemedicine. (3) health care 211u001eproviders are more likely to use telemedicine for multiple purposes if they have 211u001ea positive orientation toward change and if they perceive telemedicine's 211u001epurposes.