what-when-how
In Depth Tutorials and Information
Information
Quality
Service
Quality
Technology
Quality
Quality of
Use
Net
Benefits
Figure14.6
Telemedicinequalityfactors.(FromCynthiaLeRouge,AlanHevner,
RosannCollins,MonicaGarield,DavidLaw.Telemedicineencounterquality:com-
paringpatientandproviderperspectivesofasocio-technicalsystem.
Proceedings
of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'04)
,
Track6,HICSS,Vol.6,pp.60149a.2004.)
observation of current telemedicine encounters and their functionality, and opin-
ions of patients and researchers working in the field must all be used in order to
begin to gain an understanding of how the larger system works as a whole.
Analysis framework centers around four different factors that greatly con-
tribute to the net functionality of the system. First, the technology quality is
examined. he ability of the various components within the technical system to
handle, relay, and process information within encounters is accounted for here,
and it generally represents the quality of the backbone network. he second aspect
is information quality. his is speciically how capable the information being
passed is to allow for proper actions of the parties involved. Whether the input
systems are limited, the patient fails to provide quality information to the doctor,
or the information is hard to read once it is gathered, it all affects the information
quality factor. he third factor is service quality. In this context, service quality
refers to the way in which the organization running the telemedicine system
supports infrastructure and creates an environment that is comfortable for the
parties involved in order to facilitate proper and efective use. he last factor is
the quality of use. Here, this is defined as the ability of the individual parties to
effectively deploy and interact with the system in place in order to provide good
outcomes. After all, a given system for social interaction may only be as effective
as the individuals using the system allow it to be. Further, this encompasses the
effectiveness of any diagnosis or advice given to the patient through the telemedi-
cine encounter.
Technology quality was found to primarily focus on usability, as might be
expected, though there were more demands being put on the system by the provider
than the patients. Providers were concerned not only with the ability of the system
to function once in use but also that it be secure and available for whomever wanted
