Teleconsultation: rejected and emerging uses.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper is to analyse telemedicine as a new means to improve health care accessibility.


METHODS
A case study design was used to understand how medical specialists perceived, made sense of, and appropriated a teleconsultation system.


CONCLUSIONS
The technology was used neither in the manner nor to the extent anticipated by its designers. A fundamental modification to the traditional medical consultation process has emerged. Unable to be used as a substitute to the traditional medical consultation process, the teleconsultation system imposes a greater burden on the shoulders of participating physicians who, after a few trials, returned to their traditional mode of practice.
Sicotte
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Department of Health Administration, University of Montreal, P.O. Box 6128, Station Downtown, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3J7. claude.sicotte@umontreal.ca
Lehoux
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D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008511:Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010819:Physician's Role; D016730:Program Development; D011792:Quebec; D012041:Regional Medical Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013038:Specialization