IndexThe ProblemLiterature ReviewData AnalysisConclusionReferencesThe ProblemAs a healthcare administrator, exploring future trends in healthcare information technology must be a daily practice. With an ever-changing patient population facing today's future needs, a facility can be better prepared when population changes or environmental issues occur. Two main factors that come into play are the constant increase in the elderly population and the shortage of doctors and nurses, especially in rural areas. Telemedicine would be able to bridge the gap between patient and healthcare provider while creating a traditional face-to-face relationship and still remain cost-effective. Passive health monitoring devices and sensors would be able to offer a cost-effective way to manage a patient's health while using minimal resources. The implementation of health IT and telemedicine has improved healthcare by ensuring that healthcare information is confidential, available when and where it is needed, contributing to safer, higher quality, more coordinated, more efficient and less expensive for everyone. The purpose of this study is to investigate medical experts' perceptions regarding telemedicine and its application since healthcare stakeholders have a great influence on the decision-making process. Hesitation in adopting telemedicine by a facility is hypothesized to represent the initial financial investment. Key terms defined include Telehealth, ICT, and data security and privacy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Literature review Jungwirth and Haluza cited a number of relevant and relatively recent scholarly sources in the publication. The review was a bit broad in references as most of the data collected came from Austrian medical experts with reference to the geopolitical climate, while also referencing some US-based healthcare practices. Furthermore, many references appear to come from other countries where their health policy or practice factors may differ from those in Austria, including Canada and Taiwan. The cited authors come from different agencies and backgrounds in the healthcare sector, who in turn provide references and data from different points of view within the system. There appears to be no indication or evidence of biased data. There is an author declaration stating that there are no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication. The statement that the author receives no financial support or research, authorship, or publication also indicates little evidence of bias. The study was conducted in a cross-sectional fashion, where data is compiled from a population at a specific point in time. It was also conducted as part of a quasi-experimental design where the experiment looks a bit like an experimental design but lacks a key ingredient of random assignment. The study was original and was conducted through a two-part Delphi survey. A Delphi survey is a questionnaire that provides future scenarios to predict possibilities for new processes and is based on responses from experts. The survey was divided into two parts, one for a sociological-demographic evaluation and the second which evaluated 10 scenarios. These scenarios are in orderincreasing using the corresponding fixed items of the questionnaire for benefits, obstacles, degree of innovation, opportunities and implementation date. There was a pilot test and subsequently the SoSci survey was used in the Delphi survey software application. A sample of Austrian experts was eligible and invitations were sent via email. Written informed consent was collected before participating in the survey. Sampling was carried out in two rounds, the first of which was the online questionnaire via email. The second round featured PHP (Program Home Page) program code and a Microsoft Excel template in which responses and summary ratings were presented to adapt previous ratings. Data Analysis The data of this study were analyzed using the stepwise method. This enabled the analysis of a multiple scenario survey at the micro, meso and macro levels where macro data were used in this study. The data collected was quantitative and the results supported the fact that the main interest was financial investment in telemedicine. Strengths of this study included the fact that the participant population was large (n = 73) and that the participants were of high caliber in the Austrian healthcare sector. While this article states that having 73 participants is a lot, there are other US-based studies that include larger numbers of healthcare industry participants in their studies. Limitations of this study include the fact that this data was collected in 2010 and since then not only have social changes occurred, but also technological changes that may impact the expert's current perspectives. The investigations needed to be strongly linked to policymakers' currently existing concerns regarding the key question of where to place resources in telemedicine implementation processes. Conclusion The results of the study show that there is a hesitation in implementing telemedicine and that there is a concern when it comes to financial investments and patient responsibility. Another major obstacle that arose was data protection and the mistrust that was felt regarding this issue. It was argued that innovation in the protection of such data would be required to achieve nationwide adoption. To successfully integrate telemedicine into the system, both the organization and the patient need to be on board. The Delphi survey shows that it is necessary to use cooperation, networking, communication and sharing of practices for there to be a smooth transition when starting this program. Standards aimed at disallowing ageism also need to be addressed as inequalities can prevent older or disabled people from receiving the care they need. Access to telemedicine and digital education must be promoted to successfully reach the clients in the rural areas that this program is designed to help. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay This article really gave me insight into the need for telemedicine and the lack of resources in many parts of not only the world but also in our own backyard. In this study we talk about the aging population and that even spreading the program is not enough, but we must also educate the people who will use these services. I believe this is a huge obstacle to overcome as disseminating education in an easily understandable form could be difficult. You may need to better understand methods to reach these target populations in order to/.