Strategic eHealth Planning In Healthcare Organisations In New Zealand: A Telemedicine Perspective

This research reviewed the health IS (HIS) strategy of the New Zealand government and highlighted different gaps in this strategy, as raised by the different stakeholders involved in this strategy. In order to address such gaps, the government provided different Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for the successful implementation of the national HIS strategy. This research introduced the telemedicine technology, as one of the solutions for the HIS strategy with an objective to deliver integrated healthcare services to rural communities specifically. The research assessed the strategic importance of telemedicine by highlighting its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) to healthcare providers. The research utilised the portrayed HIS strategy and the CSFs to portray a strategy for telemedicine integration in New Zealand taking into consideration its SWOT. The developed CSFs are of strategic importance to healthcare professionals, researchers and policymakers interested in integrating telemedicine in healthcare delivery at the national level in New Zealand and elsewhere.