Abstract:
Current funding mechanisms can impede the efficient use and integration of telemedicine services.
Tefemedicine has developed in Australia against a background of complex funding arrangements and
interwoven health-care responsibilities. These impediments are not unique to telemedicine but are accentuated
by its ability to cover different locations, clinical areas and purposes. There is also a link between economic
evaluation and funding mechanisms for telemedicine. While economic evaluations provide important information
for the efficient allocation of resources, the funding environment in which telemedicine is established is
also crucial in ensuring that services are efficient. Given these complexities, should telemedicine be funded?
We conclude that this will depend on: the objectives and priorities of the health system; the efficiency of
telemedicine relative to that of other forms of health-care delivery; and the funding environment. In terms
of resource allocation processes, the optimum scenario is likely to be where the decision to invest in telemedicine
services is made taking local needs into account, but where considerations such as market structure
and network compatibility are examined on a broader scale and balanced against the principles of efficiency
and equity.
