Home // International Journal On Advances in Life Sciences, volume 4, numbers 3 and 4, 2012 // View article
Authors:
Brenda Moreira Becker Reginatto
Keywords: older people; chronic disease management; telehealth; barriers to adoption; acceptability; incentive
Abstract:
Emerging evidence has demonstrated the potential for Telehealth systems to reduce unnecessary hospital admission and lower costs of care by assisting patients and healthcare professionals to manage chronic conditions more efficiently. Nonetheless, due to a complex interplay of different barriers, Telehealth has not yet been widely adopted in any country. Understanding barriers to wider Telehealth adoption is vital to enable its embracement by many older people who could greatly benefit from the technology. The aim of this exploratory study was to identify barriers to wider Telehealth adoption in the homes of older people, in the Republic of Ireland. Objectives included identifying barriers from the perspective of five groups of stakeholders, determining the most pressing barriers and suggesting possible approaches to addressing such issues. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings were analysed against existing literature, current technology adoption trends and successful initiatives implemented in different countries. This study suggests that the lack of incentive to healthcare professionals to embrace Telehealth, technology usability issues, implementation costs and lack of organisational willingness to change are the most pressing barriers to wider Telehealth adoption. Possible approaches to address healthcare professional incentive barriers have been suggested and include government mandates, the establishment of reimbursement schemes and the use of government financial incentives. The provision of Telehealth through devices that people are familiar with such as mobile phones, laptops and computer tablets, and the involvement of end-users during Telehealth technology development stages are also supported by this study as strategies to overcome Telehealth usability challenges.
Pages: 63 to 76
Copyright: Copyright (c) to authors, 2012. Used with permission.
Publication date: December 31, 2012
Published in: journal
ISSN: 1942-2660