Dilemma of Applying Telehealth for Overseas Organ Transplantation: Comparison on Perspectives of Health Professionals and e-Health Information and Communication Technologists in Taiwan

Abstract Introduction Telehealth is one of the avenues of e-health; it is a voice, image, or document delivery system via the internet and aims to assist patients to prevent disease and to promote health, diagnosis, self-care, and treatment. The purpose of using telehealth for overseas organ transpl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transplantation proceedings 2014-05, Vol.46 (4), p.1019-1021
Main Authors: Shih, F. Jin, Shih, F. Jong, Pan, Y.J, Chen, H.M, Wang, S.-S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to Information
Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel
Continuity of Patient Care - economics
Cooperative Behavior
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Electronic Health Records
Health Care Costs
Health Information Exchange
Health Personnel
Health Services Needs and Demand
Health Services Research
Humans
Interdisciplinary Communication
International Cooperation
Medical Record Linkage - methods
Medical Tourism - economics
Middle Aged
Nurses
Organ Transplantation - economics
Organ Transplantation - nursing
Physicians
Quality of Health Care
Surgery
Taiwan
Telemedicine - economics
Telemedicine - methods
Tissue and Organ Procurement
Treatment Outcome
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Introduction Telehealth is one of the avenues of e-health; it is a voice, image, or document delivery system via the internet and aims to assist patients to prevent disease and to promote health, diagnosis, self-care, and treatment. The purpose of using telehealth for overseas organ transplantation (OOT) was debated. This study aimed to explore the dilemma in applying telehealth for OOT patients from the perspectives of health professionals and e-health information and communication technologists (eh-ICTs) in Taiwan. Methods An exploratory qualitative method was used, with a purposive sample of OT health professionals (OTHP) and eh-ICTs in Taiwan. Qualitative data were collected by face-to-face semistructured interviews, and were analyzed by content analysis. Results Fifty subjects including 10 OT surgeons (OTS), 30 registered nurses (RNs), and 10 eh-ICTs participated in this study. Five dilemmas were identified: (1) medical law violation (80%, n = 40 of 50; 100% OTS [n = 10 of 10], 67% RNs [n = 20 of 30], 100% eh-ICTs [n = 10 of 10]); (2) integrating telecommunication and medical systems for OOT (74%, n = 37 of 50; 90% OTS [n = 9 of 10], 73% RNs [n = 22 of 30], 60% eh-ICTs [n = 6 of 10]); (3) the inconsistent caring protocols among medical parties (68%, n = 34 of 50; 80% OTS [n = 8 of 10], 70% RNs [n = 21 of 30], 50% eh-ICTs [n = 5 of 10]); (4) the uncertainty in quality of care in overseas medical institutes (62%, n = 31 of 50; 80% OTS [n = 8 of 10], 60% RNs [n = 18 of 30], 50% eh-ICTs [n = 5 of 10]); and (5) the uncertainty in cost-effectiveness (36%, n = 18 of 50; 60% OTS [n = 6 of 10], 17% RNs [n = 5 of 30], 70% eh-ICTs [n = 7 of 10]). Conclusions The use of telehealth for OOT is in its infancy. A systematic curriculum with advanced pilots targeted to develop telehealth for OOT will be needed for mutual communication between OTHPs and eh-ICTs in the near future.
ISSN:0041-1345
1873-2623
DOI:10.1016/j.transproceed.2013.11.042