ArticleCureus2026
Barriers to and Facilitators of Telemedicine in Rural Healthcare in Japan: A Qualitative Analysis.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background Telemedicine can be used to improve healthcare access. However, it is used less frequently in Japan, particularly in the rural areas. Rural healthcare systems in Japan are unique in that medical services are delivered through a collaboration between core hospitals and rural clinics. Rural clinics provide primary care, whereas core hospitals are expected to provide support through telemedicine-based inter-professional communication. This study qualitatively investigated the major barriers and facilitators of telemedicine adoption in rural settings, particularly from the perspective of core hospitals that support rural clinics. Methods One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted at nine core hospitals that used or were ready to use telemedicine systems. The interviews investigated barriers to and facilitators of telemedicine adoption. Results Three barriers and 10 facilitators were identified regarding the telemedicine adoption. These barriers included: 1) budgetary, 2) human resources, and 3) operational issues. Facilitators were conceptually grouped into three domains: 1) institutional and policy-level support (incentives, establishment of operational rules and guidelines, consultation services by local governments, use of consultants, and preparation of trouble response teams), 2) professional and workforce development (human resource education), and 3) community and cultural acceptance (user-friendly systems, collaboration across communities, overcoming field-level apprehension, and resident comprehension). Conclusions While barriers largely reflected structural constraints, facilitators were identified across the institutional, professional, and community levels. Among these, the development of user-friendly systems emerged as a potentially important facilitator in the context of telemedicine adoption in rural Japan. These findings may provide useful insights for promoting telemedicine adoption in core hospitals supporting rural healthcare in Japan.
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