The South Central Telehealth Resource Center contracted with Sightline Research + Strategies, a professional research company, to conduct a study of the current telehealth situation in Tennessee and to identify ways to increase communication and collaboration among different telehealth providers in the state.
Key findings show that, “Telehealth in Tennessee is growing and expanding as the needs for it become obvious and the technology more broadly available. Organizations are developing networks, systems and suppliers to grow telehealth capabilities and meet patient needs. However, because of difficult obstacles, collaboration among agencies, while desirable, is not developing as quickly. Any effort to launch and build a broad collaboration will face formidable challenges as described by these participants.”
Results were shared with survey participants, the South Central Telehealth Resource Center Advisory Council and attendees at the South Central Telehealth Forum, which was held in Nashville on August 1 & 2. These participants have been invited to a follow-up meeting set for November to discuss recommendations. If you would like more information about the meeting or would like to provide input based on the report, please email info@learntelehealth.org.
Sightline used a qualitative methodology to achieve the research objectives. Sightline professional interviewers conducted in-depth interviews by telephone appointment with 20 current professional telehealth stakeholders in Tennessee. The interviews were conducted from May to July, 2016. An effort was made for the respondents to be as representative of the larger population of telehealth users in the state as possible. Participant responses were kept confidential and reported only in a combined report. Participants were given a summary of key findings at the end of the project.
Click here to view the summary.
