Evaluation practices of a major Canadian telehealth provider: lessons and future directions for the field.

The objective of this study was to assess the quality of Capital Health (Edmonton Area)'s telehealth evaluation practices. We conducted a comprehensive background literature review examining the current state of the art in telehealth evaluation. Using the Clinical, Human and Organizational, Educational, Administrative, Technical, and Social (CHEATS) evaluation framework, we examined 77 documents pertaining to 17 different pilot and continuing telehealth projects in Capital Health's Regional Telehealth Program. Capital Health's practices meet and reflect current standards in the field of telehealth evaluation. Strongest areas are Clinical, Technical, and Administrative evaluation, while Social and Human and Organizational evaluation are in need of the most development. Variation in quality and quantity of evaluation measures also makes direct comparisons between projects difficult. The CHEATS framework is both theoretically and practically appropriate for planning and conducting telehealth evaluations. Capital Health plans to adopt CHEATS to improve the quality of its future telehealth evaluation evidence.