Rodrigo Soares Lelis Gori, Andres Eberhard Friedl Ackermann, Cleber Lemes Bausch, Miriam Borchardt
This article objective to analyze the innovations in the business model provided by telemedicine in small and medium-sized medical clinics. Aiming to carry out this analysis, a thorough qualitative exploratory research was conducted based on interviews. A data collection protocol was developed with semi-structured questions for carrying through the interviews, which were performed with eligible respondents for meeting the criterion of having the experience in the management, implementation, or telemedicine business model operation. The respondents work in small and medium-sized medical clinics in the southern and northern regions of Brazil. The results show that the main innovations identified in the business models from the companies studied were the opportunity to serve new patients and offer complementary services to existing ones, as well as providing opportunities for new services and the possibility of working in networks of specialists through teleconsultation or by the partnership among specialized clinics. It is recommended as future work, the goal of conducting research on the barriers and challenges of implementing telemedicine in health care providers as well as a long-term monitoring of the impacts on the business model of companies which offer telehealth appointments.