Telemedicine Adoption and Sustainability in Extreme Resource Poor Countries

The value and importance of telemedicine and adoption in developed countries is growing, especially due to an increase in m-health applications. In resource poor communities and developing countries often telemedicine is adopted because it is the only available option. The scarcity of medical professionals and equipment, distances between care centers, and the high cost for obtaining medical care makes telmedicine an increasingly attractive solution. This paper reports on the need for a new model for telemedicine adoption in extreme resource poor countries. The authors made several service and research trips to Haiti between 2014 and 2015. We observed that the adoption theories used in developed countries like the US do not adequately describe the adoption process in Haiti. Based on our findings and experience in Haiti we propose a new adoption model for extreme resource poor countries.