Iranian physicians’ expectations of telemedicine development and implementation infrastructures in teaching hospitals

Seyedeh Fatemeh Ghafari; Jamileh Mahdizadeh; Ali Valinejadi; Esmaeil Mehraeen; Ali Mohammadpour; Hamid Bouraghi; Mehdi Kahouei; Seyedeh Fatemeh Ghafari; Jamileh Mahdizadeh; Ali Valinejadi; Esmaeil Mehraeen; Ali Mohammadpour; Hamid Bouraghi; Mehdi Kahouei

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2019.4.514

AIMS Public Health

2019, Volume 6, Issue 4: 514-522. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2019.4.514

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Research article Special Issues

Iranian physicians’ expectations of telemedicine development and implementation infrastructures in teaching hospitals

1.
School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
2.
Department of English Language, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
3.
Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
4.
Department of Health Information Technology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
5.
Department of Health Information Technology, Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences, Khalkhal, Iran
6.
Department of Health Information Technology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

Received: 07 September 2019 Accepted: 10 November 2019 Published: 22 November 2019

Introduction: In spite of the fact that telemedicine has various advantages; similarly as in some other data systems, it is essential to investigate clients’ perspective of technology. Besides, the clients’ awareness and satisfaction of the telemedicine are significant issues that ought to be considered before starting a telemedicine program. The present examination in this way looks to assess Iranian doctors’ demeanor and recognition toward the infrastructures of telemedicine development and implementation. Methods: The participants of this examination included doctors working in health care organizations subsidiary to Semnan University of Medical Sciences during 2019 in Iran. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used in order to evaluate the subjects’ attitudes. Results: The mean score of physicians’ attitudes towards human factors was 3.43 ± 0.59, towards educational factors was 3.68 ± 0.94 and towards security factors was 3.50 ± 0.52. Regression analysis showed that there were significant relationships between physicians’ knowledge and their attitudes towards human (P < 0.001), educational (P < 0.001) and security (P = 0.046) infrastructures. Conclusion: the findings of this study show that there are several obstacles that can be reduced through teaching, change-management methods and personal patient-to-provider communication. These techniques can improve acceptance and continuous usage of telemedicine among Iranian physicians.
- telemedicine,
- physicians,
- hospitals,
- teaching,
- Iran
Citation: Seyedeh Fatemeh Ghafari, Jamileh Mahdizadeh, Ali Valinejadi, Esmaeil Mehraeen, Ali Mohammadpour, Hamid Bouraghi, Mehdi Kahouei. Iranian physicians’ expectations of telemedicine development and implementation infrastructures in teaching hospitals[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2019, 6(4): 514-522. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2019.4.514

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Abstract

Introduction: In spite of the fact that telemedicine has various advantages; similarly as in some other data systems, it is essential to investigate clients’ perspective of technology. Besides, the clients’ awareness and satisfaction of the telemedicine are significant issues that ought to be considered before starting a telemedicine program. The present examination in this way looks to assess Iranian doctors’ demeanor and recognition toward the infrastructures of telemedicine development and implementation. Methods: The participants of this examination included doctors working in health care organizations subsidiary to Semnan University of Medical Sciences during 2019 in Iran. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used in order to evaluate the subjects’ attitudes. Results: The mean score of physicians’ attitudes towards human factors was 3.43 ± 0.59, towards educational factors was 3.68 ± 0.94 and towards security factors was 3.50 ± 0.52. Regression analysis showed that there were significant relationships between physicians’ knowledge and their attitudes towards human (P < 0.001), educational (P < 0.001) and security (P = 0.046) infrastructures. Conclusion: the findings of this study show that there are several obstacles that can be reduced through teaching, change-management methods and personal patient-to-provider communication. These techniques can improve acceptance and continuous usage of telemedicine among Iranian physicians.

Acknowledgments

We thank all participants in this study. We also thank the research council and Clinical Research Development Unit of Kowsar and Amir Al-Moamenin hospitals for providing facilities for this work. Research reported in this publication was supported by a grant [number: 1522] from the Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.

Conflict of interest

All authors report no conflict of interest.

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