Feasibility of Deploying Telemedicine System in Fatemeh Zahra Hospital of Isfahan

Aim and The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of Fatemeh Zahra Hospital in Isfahan to establish a telemedicine system.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 25 subjects including the boss and director of the hospital and the financial director, IT manager, Ph.D. and Specialist physician. Due to the small number of population, a total of sampling was done. The field research tool was interview, observation and standard questionnaire. Its validity was assessed by professors and experts and its reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.87%). SPSS software version 21 was used to analyze the data.
Findings: The hospital had the technical infrastructure necessary for telemedicine implementation, and the IT manager has a good level of knowledge about telemedicine technology. The hospital did not have a strategic plan that includes telemedicine, but the chief executive officer protects of on this matter. The shortage of technical staff, insurance and reimbursement problems, initial costs and medical staff shortages, current costs, and training and medical staff strength, in the order of priority, were the major barriers to telemedicine implementation, and time barriers, employee attitudes, licensing Issues and competition were less important.
Given the fact that the hospital has the technical infrastructure necessary for the implementation of the telemedicine system, the cost of deploying this system in the hospital is not significant and cost-effective. It is recommended to develop an appropriate strategic plan, conduct training programs to change the administrative staff culture and coordinate with the insurer's organizations.