Learning Through Telemedicine Networks

• Authors: Liqiong Deng;Marshall Scott Poole
• Venue: HICSS '03 Proceedings of the 36th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'03) - Track 6 - Volume 6
• Year: 2003

Telemedicine is advocated for its potential to improvethe accessibility and quality of health care delivery whilelowering costs [1]. Although the potential benefits oftelemedicine have long been a subject of research andintense discussion, the results of actual implementationshave been far from conclusive. Most current research,which views telemedicine as a substitute for travel and abasis for economies of scale, is rather limited in exploringthe full potential of telemedicine. In this paper, wedevelop a new framework in which organizationallearning is the theoretical basis for explaining thedevelopment and potential benefits of telemedicine.We conceptualize telemedicine as an integrated IT-enabledhealth care network of collaborativerelationships. A well-developed telemedicine network ishigh in density, maintains a balance of strong and weaknetwork ties, and is comprised of a diverse set ofrelationships. This type of network facilitates learningthrough the exchange, transfer and distribution ofmedical information/knowledge, the generation anddissemination of new knowledge about how to collaborateeffectively via telemedicine, and the application of thisknowledge in telemedicine practice. Viewing telemedicinein this light directs our attention to outcomes notemphasized in most prior research, including the diffusionof medical knowledge and expertise, and the developmentof collaborative knowledge shared by the health careparties. This paper develops a research model to explainhow learning occurs in telemedicine practice, identifyfactors influencing the learning process, and indicate howthriving telemedicine networks can be built. The modelfocuses on flexibility of information technology, networkdensity, strength of network ties, and network diversity askey factors having impacts on learning. It also views theacquisition, transfer and sharing of medical knowledgeand the development of telemedicine collaborativeknowledge as two learning processes occurringsimultaneously and recursively, and reinforcing eachother. Ultimately, learning is the core process that helpsrealize the potential of telemedicine.