Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Health Services Research
Published in: BMC Health Services Research 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Adoption of routine telemedicine in Norwegian hospitals: progress over 5 years

Authors: Paolo Zanaboni, Richard Wootton

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2016

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Although Norway is well known for its early use of telemedicine to provide services for people in rural and remote areas in the Arctic, little is known about the pace of telemedicine adoption in Norway. The aim of the present study was to explore the statewide implementation of telemedicine in Norwegian hospitals over time, and analyse its adoption and level of use.

Methods

Data on outpatient visits and telemedicine consultations delivered by Norwegian hospitals from 2009 to 2013 were collected from the national health registry. Data were stratified by health region, hospital, year, and clinical specialty.

Results

All four health regions used telemedicine, i.e. there was 100 % adoption at the regional level. The use of routine telemedicine differed between health regions, and telemedicine appeared to be used mostly in the regions of lower centrality and population density, such as Northern Norway. Only Central Norway seemed to be atypical. Twenty-one out of 28 hospitals reported using telemedicine, i.e. there was 75 % adoption at the hospital level. Neurosurgery and rehabilitation were the clinical specialties where telemedicine was used most frequently. Despite the growing trend and the high adoption, the relative use of telemedicine compared to that of outpatient visits was low.

Conclusions

Adoption of telemedicine is Norway was high, with all the health regions and most of the hospitals reporting using telemedicine. The use of telemedicine appeared to increase over the 5-year study period. However, the proportion of telemedicine consultations relative to the number of outpatient visits was low. The use of telemedicine in Norway was low in comparison with that reported in large-scale telemedicine networks in other countries. To facilitate future comparisons, data on adoption and utilisation over time should be reported routinely by statewide or network-based telemedicine services.
Literature
1.
Doarn CR, Merrell RC. A roadmap for telemedicine: barriers yet to overcome. Telemed J E Health. 2008;14(9):861–2.CrossRefPubMed
2.
Taylor J, Coates E, Wessels B, Mountain G, Hawley MS. Implementing solutions to improve and expand telehealth adoption: participatory action research in four community healthcare settings. BMC Health Serv Res. 2015;15(1):529.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
3.
Ekeland AG, Bowes A, Flottorp S. Effectiveness of telemedicine: a systematic review of reviews. Int J Med Inform. 2010;79(11):736–71.CrossRefPubMed
4.
5.
Mistry H. Systematic review of studies of the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine and telecare. Changes in the economic evidence over twenty years. J Telemed Telecare. 2012;18(1):1–6.CrossRefPubMed
6.
7.
García-Lizana F, Giorgo F. The future of e-health, including telemedicine and telecare, in the European Union: from stakeholders’ views to evidence based decisions. J Telemed Telecare. 2012;18(6):365–6.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Wootton R, Bahaadinbeigy K, Hailey D. Estimating travel reduction associated with the use of telemedicine by patients and healthcare professionals: proposal for quantitative synthesis in a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011;11:185.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
9.
Whitten P, Holtz B, Nguyen L. Keys to a successful and sustainable telemedicine program. Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2010;26:211–6.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Ringard Å, Sagan A, Sperre Saunes I, Lindahl AK. Norway: Health system review. Health Syst Transit. 2013;15(8):1–162.PubMed
11.
Norwegian Directorate of Health. Norway and Health an Introduction. Oslo: Norwegian Directorate of Health; 2012.
12.
Hansen AH, Halvorsen PA, Ringberg U, Førde OH. Socio-economic inequalities in health care utilisation in Norway: a population based cross-sectional survey. BMC Health Serv Res. 2012;12:336.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
13.
14.
15.
Norum J, Pedersen S, Størmer J, Rumpsfeld M, Stormo A, Jamissen N, Sunde H, Ingebrigtsen T, Larsen ML. Prioritisation of telemedicine services for large scale implementation in Norway. J Telemed Telecare. 2007;13(4):185–92.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Zanaboni P, Knarvik U, Wootton R. Adoption of routine telemedicine in Norway: the current picture. Glob Health Action. 2014;7:22801.PubMed
17.
O’Gorman LD, Hogenbirk JC, Warry W. Clinical telemedicine utilization in Ontario over the Ontario telemedicine network. Telemed J E Health. 2015. [Epub ahead of print].
18.
Sosial-og helsedirektoratet. Innsatsstyrt finansiering 2015. Oslo: Helsedirektoratet; 2014.
19.
Rogers ME. Diffusion of innovation. New York: Free Press; 2003.
20.
Kommunal- og moderniseringsdepartementet, Distriktsindeksen 2015 - metode, datakilder og kvalitetssikring. Oslo; 2015.
21.
22.
Darkins A. The growth of telehealth services in the Veterans Health Administration between 1994 and 2014: a study in the diffusion of innovation. Telemed J E Health. 2014;20(9):761–8.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Vargas A, Ugalde M, Vargas R, Narvaez R, Geissbuhler A. Telemedicine in Bolivia: RAFT-Altiplano project, experiences, future prospects, and recommendations. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2014;35(5-6):359–64.PubMed
24.
Ohinma A, Scott R. A costing model for videoconferencing in Alberta. J Telemed Telecare. 2006;12(7):363–9.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Brewer R, Goble G, Guy P. A peach of a telehealth program: Georgia connects rural communities to better healthcare. Perspect Health Inf Manag. 2011;8:1c.PubMedPubMedCentral
26.
Kokesh J, Ferguson AS, Patricoski C. The Alaska experience using store-and-forward telemedicine for ENT care in Alaska. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2011;44:1359–74.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Meyers L, Gibbs D, Thacker M, Lafile L. Building a telehealth network through collaboration: the story of the Nebraska Statewide Telehealth Network. Crit Care Nurs Q. 2012;35:346–52.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Dillon E, Loermans J, Davis D, Xu C. Evaluation of the Western Australian Department of Health telehealth project. J Telemed Telecare. 2005;11 Suppl 2:S19–21.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Ruas SS, Assunção AÁ. Teleconsultations by primary care physicians of Belo Horizonte: challenges in the diffusion of innovation. Telemed J E Health. 2013;19(5):409–14.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Harvey S, Peterkin G, Wootton R. Eleven years of experience with low-bandwidth telemedicine in a nurse-led rural clinic in Scotland. J Telemed Telecare. 2010;16(8):417–21.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Krupinski EA, Weinstein RS. Telemedicine in an academic center--the Arizona Telemedicine Program. Telemed J E Health. 2013;19(5):349–56.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Neufeld JD, Doarn CR, Aly R. State policies influence medicare telemedicine utilization. Telemed J E Health. 2015. [Epub ahead of print].
33.
Krishnan A, Fuska M, Dixon R, Sable CA. The evolution of pediatric tele-echocardiography: 15-year experience of over 10,000 transmissions. Telemed J E Health. 2014;20(8):681–6.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Landow SM, Oh DH, Weinstock MA. Teledermatology within the Veterans Health Administration, 2002-2014. Telemed J E Health. 2015;21(10):769–73.CrossRefPubMed
35.
Neufeld JD, Doarn CR. Telemedicine spending by medicare: a snapshot from 2012. Telemed J E Health. 2015;21(8):686–93.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Hartvigsen G, Pedersen S. Lessons learned from 25 years with telemedicine in Northern Norway, Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine. Tromsø: University Hospital of North Norway; 2015.
37.
Jaatinen PT, Aarnio P, Remes J, Hannukainen J, Köymäri-Seilonen T. Teleconsultation as a replacement for referral to an outpatient clinic. J Telemed Telecare. 2002;8(2):102–6.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Zanaboni P, Scalvini S, Bernocchi P, Borghi G, Tridico C, Masella C. Teleconsultation service to improve healthcare in rural areas: acceptance, organizational impact and appropriateness. BMC Health Serv Res. 2009;9:238.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
39.
McGill A, North J. An analysis of an ongoing trial of rural videoconference fracture clinics. J Telemed Telecare. 2012;18(8):470–2.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Adoption of routine telemedicine in Norwegian hospitals: progress over 5 years
Authors
Paolo Zanaboni
Richard Wootton
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1743-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2016

BMC Health Services Research 1/2016 Go to the issue

Research article

Cost-effectiveness analysis of microscopic observation drug susceptibility test versus Xpert MTB/Rif test for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV patients in Uganda

Research article

A framework to assess patient-reported adverse outcomes arising during hospitalization

Research article

Impact of a well-developed primary care system on the length of stay in emergency departments in the Netherlands: a multicenter study

Research article

Field-testing phase of the development of individual cognitive stimulation therapy (iCST) for dementia

Research article

Self-perception of leadership styles and behaviour in primary health care

Research article

Future expenditure risk of silent members: a statistical analysis