Telemedicine: What It Is, Where It Came From, and Where It Will Go

Abstract

Health care delivery in the United States is experiencing a paradigm shift, from a provider-centered approach to a patient-centered management model that emphasizes patient satisfaction and choice to build and retain market share. The application and usage of telecommunication technology have provoked this paradigm shift in health care delivery. As a form of technology, telemedicine has tremendously impacted society and revolutionized health care delivery in the country. It has drastically expanded the body of health care information available and has changed health care delivery models. Rogers’s theory ( Diffusion of Innovations [2003]) is adopted to explore why and how telemedicine has been implemented, grown, and sustained in Tennessee. It is beneficial to investigate the infrastructure of several forms of telemedicine networks that have been identified and commonly accepted as successful in developing and using it to improve health care delivery. This essay analyzes how five active telemedicine programs in Tennessee retain the structural commonalities that emphasize the importance of making telemedicine convenient for health care professionals and also making it visible through the use of marketing and training. To develop, grow, and sustain a telemedicine initiative, this essay suggests developing state- and nationwide telemedicine networks, ensuring multiple funding sources, and establishing a telemedicine advisory commission.