1. Health information systems to improve health care: A telemedicine case study
Presented by:
Susan cody
Taylor Buckley
mandy fitzberger
Shanita Henry
HCA 626-Prof. James Brady
July 28, 2014

2. Faced with increasing healthcare expenditure, other governments, including the U.K., France and China, are also promoting telehealth as a long-term cost-saving measure
Information Week 01/23/2013

3. WHAT IS TELEMEDICINE?
The use of information and communication technologies to transfer medical information for the delivery of clinical and educational services

4. Case study background
Challenges in providing quality healthcare to rural areas in South Africa
Doctor to Patient ratios range from 1:1300 to 1:
Challenges consist of internet connectivity and user knowledge with technology
Telemedicine was introduced into 6 district hospitals and 25 clinic sites in the Eastern Cape over 5 years with unfavorable results
Major focus has moved to user acceptance studies

5. STRATEGIC IMPACTS
Improved Access – Provider shortages throughout the world--in both rural and urban areas--telemedicine has a unique capacity to increase service to millions of new patients.
 Cost Efficiencies – Telemedicine has been shown to reduce the cost of healthcare and increase efficiency through better management of chronic diseases, shared health professional staffing, reduced travel times, and fewer or shorter hospital stays.
 Improved Quality – Proven quality of healthcare services delivered via telemedicine are as good those given in traditional in-person consultations.
Patient Demand – Using telemedicine technologies reduces travel time and related stresses for the consumer.
Top Talent Recruitment Strategy

6. OPERATIONAL IMPACTS
Need to provide readily available technical assistance to support staff and systems
Increased cost of operation due to programs, connectivity and support
Unfavorable results from the pilot facilities led to the need for further testing before future investments were allowed
Users were surveyed using The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)
86% women of which 1/3 were under 30 favor Telemedicine
Approx. 52.7% of rural and secondary urban workers with no prior knowledge of the technology say they are comfortable that it would be helpful to their jobs and easy to learn

7. CULTURAL IMPACTS
Telemedicine is particularly beneficial for those in rural, remote, and underserved communities, groups that traditionally suffer from lack of access to health care, because it overcomes distance and time barriers between health-care providers and patients.
One challenge is a complex of human and cultural factors. Some patients and health care-workers resist adopting service models that differ from traditional approaches or indigenous practices 
In all countries, cultural issues pertaining to confidentiality, dignity, and privacy are of concern with respect to the use of ICTs in telemedicine.  
It is imperative that telemedicine be implemented equitably and to the highest ethical standards and cultural beliefs, to maintain the dignity of all individuals, and ensure that differences in education, language, geographic location, physical and mental ability, age, and sex will not lead to marginalization of care.

8. POLITICAL IMPACTS
Policymakers not quite ready for Telemedicine but is receiving more attention.
They understand that there is a need for policies and regulations for Telemedicine and have started to make moved towards achieving this.
Challenges have been that not all government insurance programs reimburse patients or incentivize the physicians.
The RNCOS Business Consultancy has recently reported they are predicting an 18.5% increase in telemedicine worldwide through with the United States alone growing from $240 million a year to a 56 percent increase and an astonishing $1.9 billion dollar annual growth in
Two bipartisan bills were introduced in Congress, designed to encourage telehealth” (2013).
HR 3077, the TELE-MED Act, would permit certain Medicare providers licensed in a state to provide telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries in a different state.
HR 3750, the Telehealth Modernization Act, would promote the provision of telehealth by establishing a federal standard for telehealth, and inducing all states to adhere to it

9. Future projections
As user acceptance improves, telemedicine’s success is projected to soar
Improving the quality of user education to promote the benefits of Telemedicine

10. REFERENCES
American Telemedicine Association 2012, (n.d.). About Telemedicine, What is Telemedicine? Retrieved from
Cilliers, L. & Flowerday, S.V., 2013, ‘Health information systems to improve health care: A telemedicine case study’, SA Journal of Information Management 15(1), Art. #541, 5 pages. sajim.v15i1.541
Global Observatory for eHealth series – Volume 2  from
Graham, John R. (2013). Top health trend for 2014: Telehealth to grow over 50%. What role for regulation? Retrieved from
Ravindranath, Mohana. (2014). Telemedicine alliance aims to educate policymakers. Retrieved from