Abstract

This paper will focus on telecommunication healthcare in Alaska as an institutional category of Gidden’s theory of reconceptualizing institutions. Over the past fifty years, considerable advancements of Alaska Native health have occurred in which the Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN) managed by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) has played a critical role. We began the discussion by defining telemedicine/telehealth as an institution of medicine and healthcare. Next, Gidden’s theory of reconceptualizing institutions is examined, because it is a crucial frame of reference for examining the institution of telemedicine/telehealth in Alaska. Following the discussion of Gidden’s theory, the AFHCAN telehealth system is discussed and explored to understand the basis for social interactions within the AFHCAN telehealth system and how healthcare is distributed. This telemedicine healthcare institution has resulted in rapid alteration in the overall mode of interactions between the patient, healthcare professionals, and the healthcare organization. As a result, it has had a direct influence on the medical establishment in rural and remote areas.