Resumen
Telemedicine involves the use of advanced telecommunications technologies to exchange medical information allowing for the provision of health care services across geographic, temporal, social and cultural barriers. This article describes the results of a study that uses a framework to examine the technology implementation of a Hong Kong-based telemedicine program. Supported by image transmission and display systems, neurosurgeons at an acute tertiary hospital can provide remote consultation and patient assessment and management services to attending physicians at a regional general hospital. Regular use of the system, although intermittent, became part of the surgeons' routine clinical activities. Overall, surgeons were familiar with the current system's operations and did not find its use difficult. Telemedicine represents a promising and exciting technology-enabled solution for long-standing problems in health care, including service accessibility, quality, costs and resource allocation. The ultimate success of telemedicine as a viable service delivery and collaboration alternative requires that health care organizations properly address technological and managerial challenges