RESEARCH ARTICLE Copyright © 2019 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Journal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience Vol. 16, 4367–4373, 2019 Drivers and Barriers of Telemedicine in India: Seeking a New Paradigm Sonika Bakshi, Urvashi Tandon, and Amit Mittal * Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Chitkara University, Punjab 140401, India Telemedicine has emerged as a solution to the triad of accessibility, cost and quality in case of healthcare delivery systems world over. Despite its immense potential, its rate of usage is disap- pointingly low. The research identifies various factors influencing telemedicine acceptance in India. A modified version of UTAUT2 (Unified Theory of Acceptance and use of Technology is proposed to understand the integration of telemedicine by doctors in India. Government policy, support of the senior management and project team capability are additional variables being proposed in the study. Along with the drivers, the barriers and moderators affecting the behavior intention and actual usage of telemedicine in India are also identified through literature review. The results would assist policy makers and healthcare managers to recognize the variables influencing the acceptance, adoption and diffusion of telemedicine and, therefore, realize its potential in an emerging country like India. Keywords: Telemedicine, Drivers, Perceived Risk, UTAUT2. 1. INTRODUCTION Rapid development in connected care technology, big data and analytics has intensified teleconsultations, thereby paving way for consumer-to-provider telemedicine sys- tem. The penetration of internet and smart devices have facilitated the health care professionals to move forward towards adoption of telehealth applications [1]. This in turn has resulted in proliferation of novel tech- niques like telemedicine for treating patients. Telemedicine can connect providers to the patients in remote areas through video-conferencing and e-mail thereby giving them expert advice. Telemedicine provides for timely access to specialist without travelling thereby reducing waiting time by delivering consultation, follow-up and monitoring [2–4]. Telehealth is a related term which com- prises of access at diverse locations without the require- ment of medical settings [5]. Interactions of doctors with rural patients sitting at remote and underprivileged areas through video-conferencing in different clinical set- tings is gaining importance in developing countries also Refs. [6–7]. Telemedicine allows doctors to collaborate in providing quality healthcare across settings and locations, thereby not only improving access and convenience, and engagement for patients but also several clinical benefits such as improved utilization of resources and decreased readmissions which are preventable through remote moni- toring. By reducing the billable time, a doctor can provide * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. consultation and treat more patients within a given period of time [8]. Telemedicine covers, “the delivery of health care ser- vices, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care professionals using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for the exchange of valid informa- tion for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continu- ing education of health care providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their commu- nities” [9]. With the all-pervasive availability of digital bandwidth and enormous facility to reduce high resolution videos, communication over long distances has not only been made possible and convenient but also very cost- effective due to the diminishing costs of computer sys- tems and data transmission [10–11]. All these factors have led to an increased economic feasibility of setting up of telemedicine systems for all medical facilities irrespective of their size [12].On the other hand, telemedicine dimin- ishes inadequacies in healthcare services, reduces travel and waiting time thereby extending specialist consultation for rural and remote areas [11, 13]. Indian Healthcare system faces wide range of challenges in the current scenario. Kasthuri [14] has summarized it as the five A’s-access, affordability, accountability, aware- ness and absence of the required human resources. The last one is one of the major challenges faced not only in India but most part of the world also. By 2035, world will face a deficit of 12.9 million healthcare workers (HW) J. Comput. Theor. Nanosci. 2019, Vol. 16, No. 10 1546-1955/2019/16/4367/007 doi:10.1166/jctn.2019.8527 4367