Making the Most of Virtual Expertise in Telemedicine and Telehealth Environment

Abstract

Virtual expertise is a critical component of telehealth projects and it needs to be effectively managed if telehealth is to deliver on its potential. There are many issues within telehealth that relate to the management of knowledge, and we identify and classify these using a range of papers on the topic. We introduce a virtual expertise platform that provides basic building blocks for effect-leveraging of expertise in this domain. The platform includes management directives and goals, a collaborative culture, an appropriate information and communication technology platform, a knowledge management layer, and a tools or application layer that interact to facilitate knowledge sharing, and ultimately improve patient care. We also emphasize how social media tools can be used as part of the tools layer to improve virtual knowledge sharing before and after telehealth events.

Keywords:

• ICT
• knowledge
• knowledge management
• social media
• telehealth
• expertise

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Craig Standing

Craig Standing is professor of Strategic Information Management at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. He has published research dealing with knowledge management and e-health, and has attracted competitive funding to support this research. Dr. Standing’s work has appeared in such journals as Decision Support Systems, Journal of Knowledge Management, European Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, Information Systems Frontiers, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Electronic Markets, Internet Research, International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, and Technovation. He is co-director of the Centre for Innovative Practice and leading a range of research projects examining how firms can use ICT to be more innovative.

Raj Gururajan

Raj Gururajan is professor at the University of Southern Queensland. He has extensive research experience in the e-health domain and is managing several projects involving health practitioners and academics from Australian and international universities. Professor Gururajan has obtained prestigious Australian Research Council funding for his work in the area. His publications appear in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, Journal of Communications in Healthcare, International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, International Journal of Management in Education, Journal of Systems and Information Technology, International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, and International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Research,among others.

Susan Standing

Susan Standing is a researcher in the Centre for Innovative Practice at Edith Cowan University. Her current work examines the strategic use of electronic marketplaces and the role of social media in business. She has published on her research interests in such journals as Decision Support Systems, Electronic Commerce Research, International Journal of Mobile Communications, International Journal of e-Collaboration, Logistics Information Management, International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, and also presented her work at international conferences.

Helen Cripps

Helen Cripps completed a doctorate in electronic collaboration at Edith Cowan University and since has been engaged in research under the Centre for Innovative Practice at ECU. She has attracted considerable funding from the industry to support her research work and has published her work in journals such as the International Journal of Medical Informaticsand Journal of Systems and Information Technology. Dr. Cripps has won awards for her university-industry collaboration activities.