title: Success factors in the long-term sustainability of a telediabetes programme.
abstract: We studied a telediabetes programme that had been in operation for 10 years, to identify the factors in its sustainability. We reviewed archive documents, conducted interviews with programme administrators and primary care providers, observed diabetes consultations and surveyed patient satisfaction. Three success factors were identified: the administration took a long-term view of the value of the telemedicine service; telediabetes enabled structured use of staff time and facilities; and service delivery followed national diabetes standards and a well defined cycle of care within a long-term quality improvement programme. However, the present study did not address the three other key theoretical dimensions of systems design beyond sustainability: size, scalability and scope.
authors.affiliation: St Claire Regional Medical Centre, Morehead, Kentucky, USA.
authors.forename: Sheila L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Whittaker
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adkins
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Horsley
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kelley
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards