A readiness model for telehealth is it possible to pre-determine how prepared communities are to implement telehealth?

Telehealth can be defined as the degree to which users, health care organizations, and the health system itself are prepared to participate and succeed in its application. This project developed a readiness model for rural/remote locations in Canada. Specifically defined groups or with shared characteristics within a rural geographical community (i.e. practitioners, patients, the public, and health care organizations) participated in key informant interviews, awareness sessions, focus groups, and face-to-face interviews. The data were examined and organized keeping in mind Weiss' Program's Theory of Change. This approach allowed concrete and abstract factors to be considered. The model that emerged suggests that there are four types of readiness for each of the defined communities: core, engagement, structural, and non-readiness. The communities share some readiness factors and risks, but also exhibit unique elements. This finding is critical to acknowledge when the goal is to implement a useful, effective, and sustainable telehealth system within remote settings. Study results hold a key to understanding why technology systems have failed in the past, in spite of dedicating considerable human and financial resources towards their implementation. Notations of these findings will be helpful in future telehealth implementations within rural and isolated areas.