Assessing advantages and barriers to telemedicine adoption in the practice setting: A MyCareTeam(TM) exemplar.
PURPOSE
Telemedicine is an evolving field that holds great potential to improve patient outcomes. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties core competencies now require all nurse practitioners (NPs) to be competent utilizing telemedicine to address various patient and healthcare system needs. While telemedicine offers advantages to patient care, adoption of new technologies can be challenging.


DATA SOURCES
An assessment of perceived advantages and barriers to MyCareTeam, an online diabetes management system, was conducted at an adult diabetes clinic. Two survey questionnaires were developed based on the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory. The surveys were administered to patients in the clinic waiting room and sent to all clinical staff via an e-mail link.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this project suggested a novel way to classify patients with regard to their use of the technology with implications for practice. Recommendations include outreach to enhance knowledge and awareness of MyCareTeam, reinforcing the full scope of the system, and improved technical support.


IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
DOI theory is a framework that may be utilized by NPs as a tool for assessing advantages and barriers to telemedicine applications in the practice setting in order to identify strategies to promote adoption and use.
["L'Esperance|Shaun T|ST|", 'Perry|Donna J|DJ|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009722:Nurse Practitioners D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations D036301:Qualitative Research D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D017216:Telemedicine
Telemedicine diabetes diffusion of innovations theory doctor of nursing practice quality improvement