Transcending the technology of telemedicine: An analysis of telemedicine in North Carolina

This study investigated the telemedicine program at East Carolina Universit y School of Medicine. In-depth interviews, organizational texts, and archiv al records provided data for a case study that sought to understand what te lemedicine is to organizational members and how they came to create this co ntextual reality. The goal of this study was to apply interpretive paradigm atic assumptions in the privileging of telemedicine as the very context of the organization. The findings explain how organizational members make sens e of this new way of providing health care. Organizational members' talk re vealed that telemedicine is multifaceted: It is access, an economic tool, e ducation, technology, and a grant activity. With the single exception of te chnology, these themes emerged equally, regardless of whether the telemedic ine provider was located at the urban hub site or the rural spoke site. int erestingly, members at both locations talked about critical events in relat ion to receipt of grant or financial support for new projects. Implications for future research are advanced.