How e-learning creates new opportunities in hospital settings? Innovations in a low resource setting

Abstract

Background: E-learning and telemedicine have become common methods in changing and developing medical education and clinical processes. The purpose of this study was to describe the innovations of blending e-Learning into the educational and medical processes of hospital services Methods: The process of action research included plan, act, observation and reflection was followed. Implementation, which took 18 months, included purchasing and installing the required software and administration of new educational and medical processes. The result reflected in regional and national innovation councils among universities of medical sciences and minister of health and in Iran. Results: Incorporation of eLearning into medical and educational processes resulted in practical innovations. The first was setting up an e-clinic, which was formed based on virtual and online communication between the hospital's clinic and distant rural health centers. It prevented from unnecessary referrals and created an accountable paradigm of medical education based on a triple consultation between family physicians (GPs), specialists and patients in rural and urban communities. Another innovations were the development of a joint clinic of diabetes and ophthalmology specialists, running online medical classes, online morning reports meetings and holding OSCE using virtual reality technology. Moreover, with the establishment of virtual reality technology, novel productions in medical education also emerged. Conclusion: the result reveled eLearning and telemedicine create novel opportunities in health systems toward accountable education and improving both equity and efficiency in health service provision.