Assignment: Practical Business Problem Solving TopicOverview of the Topic, Its Context, and Rationale

The topic I am interested in pursuing during my Doctoral Study is “telehealth” as a
disruptive technology, particularly in the context of healthcare. Telehealth is one of the leading
disruptive technologies fundamentally altering how healthcare providers interact & communicate
with patients and deliver clinical services. Typically, telehealth refers to the facilitation and
delivery of clinical-related services via remote technologies, usually over the internet. These
services include self-care, health information, patient and provider education, counseling, and
medical care. Some tools or health IT technologies used in telehealth include remote patient
monitoring, store-and-forward electronic transmission, mobile health applications, and live video
conferencing.
There are multiple reasons I am drawn to studying telehealth. The first is gaining a deeper
understanding of how this technology alters clinical processes and workflows, patient-provider
relationships and communication, decision-making, drug ordering and prescription, patient
education and management, and student learning. I am also interested in knowing the current
telehealth implementation rate, the pros, and cons of adopting it, factors to consider before
implementation, how to implement it, who is involved, and what the future holds. I am also
interested in telehealth because of its potential to improve patient outcomes during the COVID-
19 pandemic (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020).
History of the Study Area and the Relevance of the Topic to Today’s Business World
In discussing disruptive technologies, Christensen noted that disruption occurs when a
new technology introduces a value proposition that did not previously exist in the market. When
one applies Christensen’s disruptive technologies to healthcare, healthcare informatics emerges

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as a form of disruptive technologies that have enabled new healthcare delivery models and
improved existing healthcare models. For example, electronic medical records by replacing
manual records have improved healthcare by reducing medication errors associated with manual
record-keeping. The technological basis for electronic health records has also created a demand
for technologists in healthcare and driven the need for healthcare practitioners to acquire
technology skills. To this end, investigating whether telehealth is a form of disruptive technology
is relevant to the healthcare business because it deepens our understanding of how telehealth
creates value for patients and how healthcare organizations can leverage telehealth to support
care management and improve patient outcomes.
Per the media piece “Choosing Your Doctoral Topic” (Walden University, LLC, 2012), a
great topic should be specific. This reduces ambiguity and allows the researcher to effectively
organize research results and synthesize them, thus developing a coherent paper. Still, the paper
should focus on two to three concepts. By focusing on how telehealth fits into disruptive
technologies, the present study is not very broad or narrow. Additionally, there is a significant
body of literature on disruptive innovation in the healthcare industry. As a result, the proposed
doctoral topic builds on studies in disruptive innovation by reviewing how telehealth mirrors the
characteristics of disruptive technologies.
Among the business-related problems related to the selected topic include risk
management. Risks in telehealth mainly touch on technology deployment and regulatory issues
touching on ethics and law.

Business-Related Problem Related to the Selected Topic

Even though disruptive technologies like telehealth have been widely adopted across
different healthcare systems (physician offices, hospitals, elderly home care services, and health

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insurance firms), the problem that remains unanswered is whether implementing these tools can
make sense from a business perspective (Das, Yaylacicegi, & Menon, 2011). The daunting
question for most healthcare organizations is whether embracing telehealth as a disruptive
technology can be justified financially in the long term, especially in terms of increasing
revenues and profits for the organization. When and how will investors ever earn a return on
their investment? When will it take for the new investment to break even? Does it make any
financial sense to invest in new health IT, or is it worthwhile to maintain the status quo?
The Type of Data That Might be Needed to Research Business-Related Problems Identified

Above and How to Collect the Data

The present study will rely on secondary and qualitative data. This research will uncover
different risks like data privacy through a literature search of peer-reviewed articles on scholarly
databases and reports related to telehealth. In so doing, it will tie ethical and legal risks to the
value proposition of telehealth as a disruptive technology in the healthcare industry. Outside
perception of value by healthcare providers and patients who serve as customers of health
services, this study will also provide an overview of the profitability of the telehealth sector and
its market impact on healthcare organizations that resist telehealth solutions.

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References

Christensen, C. M. (2013). The innovator’s dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms
to fail. Harvard Business Review Press.
Das, S., Yaylacicegi, U., & Menon, N. (2011). The effect of information technology investments
in healthcare: A longitudinal study of its lag, duration, and economic value. IEEE
Transitions on Engineering Management, 58(1), 124-140.
doi:10.1109/TEM.2010.2048906
Monaghesh, E., & Hajizadeh, A. (2020). The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: A
systematic review based on current evidence. BMC Public Health, 20(1193_.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09301-4
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2012). Choosing your doctoral topic [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.