Project Initiation for Telemedicine Services

This study investigates project initiation for telemedicine, a technology innovation in healthcare organizations that manifests both intra- and inter-organizational collaboration. Moving from a telemedicine project to a sustainable telemedicine service line can be a challenge for many organizations (LeRouge, Tulu, & Forducey, 2010). Project definition (a.k.a., initiation) sets the strategic vision for a project and has been categorized as the most important stage in a project (C. Gray & Larson, 2008) and a key element for project success (Stah-Le Cardinal & Marle, 2006). Although project management best practices have been applied in many domains, there are few studies that link published best practices to the telemedicine domain. This study first presents a model, resulting from a review of project management literature that specifies the recommended components project definition. Using this model as a foundation, the authors explore how project definition is deployed in the telemedicine domain, using the instantiation of telestroke projects for this study. The authors base their findings on a multi-case qualitative data set, with each case representing a distinct telemedicine business model. Findings from this study explicate how the telestroke project initiation process is collaboratively managed and how this process impacts the overall success of the telemedicine programs through the lens of the five distinct telemedicine business models. Specifically, this study contributes insights on key elements of project initiation in the telemedicine context as well as the effects of the varying business models (focusing on commonalities and differences).