Table 1.

Recruitment and retention factors on which telehealth could have an effect

POSITIVE EFFECTS
Organizational factors
✓ Counter work overload by (RC & RT):
◦ Putting into place on-call systems
◦ Stabilising services
✓ Increased diversity of available care (RC & RT)
✓ Stimulating work environment (RC & RT)
Professional factors
✓ Access to the support of colleagues in large centres (RC & RT)
✓ Decreased feeling of professional isolation (RC & RT)
✓ Possibility to receive a second opinion (RC & RT)
✓ Better knowledge of remote medical teams through distance training (RC)
✓ Contacts between peers (RC & RT)
✓ Discussion about complex cases (RC & RT)
✓ Decision-making support (RC & RT)
Educational factors
✓ Increased access to continued education (RC & RT)
✓ Updating knowledge (RT)
✓ Possibility to teach (RC)
✓ Give recruits training better adapted to the needs of remote areas (RT)
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Organizational factors
✓ Justify the fact that physicians remain in large centres (RC)
✓ Give perceptions of a staff shortage (RC)
✓ An increase of heavy cases for remote areas (RC)
Professional factors
✓ Recruitment of people who do not have the necessary competencies to practice in remote regions (RT)
Educational factors
✓ Limited off-site training (RC)

RC = recruitment; RT = retention