Working anywhere for telehealth

Clinicians (general practitioners, specialists, and allied health professionals) are experts in medicine, not technology. The delivery of health care using technology includes changes to the way the clinician works; in effect, they work from anywhere. This study examined telehealth adoption from the perspective of clinicians. Data was collected from 44 in-depth interviews undertaken with a variety of Australian clinicians. The findings show that telehealth is a complex endeavour involving multiple stakeholders. While the potential of telehealth service provision is significant, the realities of delivering telehealth services involve many challenges for clinicians. These include technology-related issues; lack of funding and financial incentives for telehealth; the changing skills and capabilities required by clinicians who engage in telehealth consultations; as well as changes to business processes resulting from the introduction in a complex environment. A conceptual model for the adoption of sustainable telehealth is proposed for better understanding of these complexities.