How are assurances obtained regarding telemedicine time commitments from departmental administrators?
The key to answering this question is the organization’s top level commitment to telemedicine consult services. Departmental administrators are very sensitive to the direction of corporate strategies and how those strategies affect their department or service. To the extent that they clearly perceive that there is top level commitment to telemedicine and/or they see evidence of commitment in terms of resources allocated to telemedicine, they will be more likely to support those specialists who choose to participate in a telemedicine consultation service. Execution of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the department detailing the commitments they will allow assures that that there is a clear understanding among all participants and serves as a corporate memory when new administrators join the department. It is possible to achieve the same assurances through less formal arrangements, such as verbal agreements, corporate statements of intention to participate, or by building close
