Telehealth Technology Assessment

What is a telehealth technology assessment?

A telehealth technology assessment is the process of evaluating the effectiveness, usability, and feasibility of telehealth technologies to ensure they meet the needs of healthcare providers and patients. The National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center (TTAC) explained step-by-step how an existing or potential telehealth program should conduct a telehealth technology assessment.

See the TTAC Technology Assessment Toolkit for a full explanation - a brief summary of the assessment process is below.

Needs Assessment

Establishing Requirements

The first step to conducting a telehealth technology assessment is determining the requirements of the program. Though there are many different ways to establish the technology requirements of the program, particular attention should be paid to ensuring that all types of staff (clinical, administrative, and technical) should be involved to establish the most complete picture of the requirements that the program will have.

Conducting a Market Review

Once the program has a clear idea of what requirements they will needs, they should conduct a market review to determine what technology exists that can fulfill their needs. Programs can work independently or with vendors and other third-parties to determine the best and most feasible technology to be used for their program.

See TTAC’s Technology Assessment 101 – Needs Assessment for more information.

Testing

Obtain Devices

Once the program has used their needs assessment period to determined which devices will work for their program, they should obtain some of those devices for testing purposes. When possible, programs should work with vendors to obtain multiple devices for testing

Plan Tests

The program should create a series of tests that will determine how well the devices selected will meet the needs that were identified during the needs assessment stage. See TTAC’s testing section for recommendations of how to conduct tests and what variables will need to be assessed.  

Test the Plan

Once the tests have been planned, they should be conducted. It is important to time these tests – multiple criteria should be tested simultaneously to determined in there are any factors that might impact each other. Once tests have been conducted, the program should evaluate results and, if necessary, make changes as needed.

See TTAC’s Technology Assessment 101 – Testing for more information.

Device Selection

Select Device

Once tests have been completed and the results analyzed, the program should determine which devices are most feasible for their program. Devices can now be purchased with the knowledge that they have proven to be effective for the program.

Deploy Devices

Once devices have been obtained and set-up, they can be put into operation. Devices will need to be supported throughout their lifecycle, with regular maintenance and training for program staff.

See TTAC’s Technology Assessment 101 – Device Selection for more information.

More Resources:

The National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center – Technology Assessment 101

“Time put towards planning and performing research at the beginning of the technology assessment process is time well spent.  Decisions made later in the assessment process will largely be directed by the work done in these critical first steps.  There are really two primary areas to focus on in these initial efforts – determining what your organization needs, and determining what the current market can offer your telehealth program.”

California Telehealth Resource Center – Telehealth Technology Needs and Readiness Assessment Toolkit

“Utilize this assessment guide to get a complete picture of your telehealth technology needs and readiness before making a purchase.”

More questions? Contact the UMTRC at [email protected]!

Last updated March 24^th, 2023