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Understanding Telehealth: Constructing Meaning to Promote Assimilation

Understanding Telehealth: Constructing Meaning to Promote Assimilation

Joachim Jean-Jules, Alain O. Villeneuve
Copyright: © 2011 |Pages: 23
ISBN13: 9781609606077|ISBN10: 1609606078|EISBN13: 9781609606084
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-607-7.ch014
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MLA

Jean-Jules, Joachim, and Alain O. Villeneuve. "Understanding Telehealth: Constructing Meaning to Promote Assimilation." Developing Technologies in E-Services, Self-Services, and Mobile Communication: New Concepts, edited by Ada Scupola, IGI Global, 2011, pp. 254-276. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-607-7.ch014

APA

Jean-Jules, J. & Villeneuve, A. O. (2011). Understanding Telehealth: Constructing Meaning to Promote Assimilation. In A. Scupola (Ed.), Developing Technologies in E-Services, Self-Services, and Mobile Communication: New Concepts (pp. 254-276). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-607-7.ch014

Chicago

Jean-Jules, Joachim, and Alain O. Villeneuve. "Understanding Telehealth: Constructing Meaning to Promote Assimilation." In Developing Technologies in E-Services, Self-Services, and Mobile Communication: New Concepts, edited by Ada Scupola, 254-276. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-607-7.ch014

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Abstract

During the past few decades, many healthcare authorities sought to integrate new methods of delivering care to patients. Among the priorities faced by these organizations, a major issue arose of how to provide healthcare to patients who live in rural or remote regions suffering from a lack of accessible professional resources and services that comply with WHO’s call for providing fair access to healthcare. Many attempts were made to integrate new technologies such as telehealth into the healthcare system, but in many cases, telehealth was not successful due in part to limited assimilation into healthcare organizations and work practices. Telehealth addresses operational issues such as a shortage of professionals in rural or underserved geographical regions. Using a breadth of reference theories such as institutional theory, structuration theory, and organizational learning theory, we propose a conceptual model that integrates the determinants of telehealth assimilation and identifies factors that impinge upon the process of assimilation. We posit that telehealth assimilation can only be understood by taking a multilevel approach to the phenomenon, whereby assimilation starts at the individual level, permeates through other organizational levels such as groups, and finally ends at the organizational and inter-organizational level. Further, assimilation of technological innovations must be considered within their institutional context. Derived from our conceptual model, we make several propositions and hope that our work will significantly guide future research and managerial actions geared toward integrating healthcare in the workplace.

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