Exploring telemedicine and organizational challenges in the healthcare system: a qualitative analysis using Grounded Theory

Abstract

PurposeTelemedicine is a context-specific intervention that implies significant procedural changes in a health organization. The objective of the study is to explore healthcare professionals’ usage of and perceptions towards telemedicine technology and identify the perceived factors and related process change, influencing the effective adoption of telemedicine from an organizational perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe study includes multi-disciplinary commentaries of a purposive sample of 31 healthcare professionals, conducted through semi-structured qualitative interviews and employs Grounded Theory and Thematic Analysis techniques to analyze the data.FindingsTelemedicine is perceived as a highly beneficial digital intervention in healthcare, focusing on the delivery of effective healthcare, and promoting healthcare equity. Healthcare professionals showed their willingness to assimilate technology into clinical decision-making, resulting in better treatment outcomes, and recommended its’ adoption into mainstream healthcare as a viable approach to providing remote healthcare. The key organizational issues with telemedicine adoption were system requirements, network connectivity, non-standardized medical records, and legal bottlenecks, that can be addressed by improving infrastructural convenience, optimizing service processes, imparting training, and adopting better technical measures.Originality/valueThe focus is on exploring factors significant for the adoption of telemedicine technology from the perspective of multi-specialties in a health organization, rather than a specific specialty, as studied in previous scholarly work. This study contributes to the theory by proposing a conceptual framework on critical factors for telemedicine adoption, integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and diffusion of innovation (DOI).