Telemedicine, hospital viability, and community embeddedness: a case study.
Many hospitals today struggle to remain competitive through the adoption of medical technology or expansion of hospital services. This article presents a case study of one hospital's attempt to remain viable through the adoption of telemedicine. Through a 17-year analysis of local hospital-related news reports, it is argued that a hospital's relationship to the local community can affect the success and potential of such innovations. Establishing a pattern of trust and support between the local community and hospital should therefore be an important step in increasing hospital viability.
Sykes
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Texas A&M University, College Station, USA. dlsykes1@juno.com
McIntosh
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D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004465:Economic Competition; D004496:Education, Continuing; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008402:Mass Media; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D018581:Technology Transfer; D017216:Telemedicine; D013781:Texas