Feasibility Study for the Establishment of Telemedicine: A Review Study and a Suggestion for Iran

Introduction: Telemedicine is considered as an integral part of the management of health care services and health information systems. This study aimed to review the studies on the goals and applications of telemedicine in different countries and to present a suggestion for the health system of Iran. Method: In this systemic study using keywords of tele-medicine, electronic health، tele health, health care, system, technology, program and tele medical, the related studies in databases of Iranian National Medical Digital Library were reviewed from April 2000 to April 2017. Results: After applying the entry criteria and evaluating the quality of the studies, 70 eligible papers were selected. The main identified obstacles to the establishment of electronic health in Iran were vagueness and complexity of the IT infrastructure, cultural and educational problems, frequent changes of managers, inability to attract skilled IT staff in the field of electronic health, lack of a specified mechanism for funding electronic health systems and failure to develop technical standards. Conclusion: Telemedicine in Iran can transfer from the pilot phase to a stable major phase provided that it be cost-effective. Therefore, it is suggested that sufficient attention be paid by custodians to issues such as allocating adequate funding, raising the awareness of authorities regarding the necessary infrastructure requirements, and creating motivation and cooperation feeling using briefing and training sessions.