Is It For Your Future?

In the United States, a renewed interest occurred in telehealth in the 1990s according to McGonigle and Mastrian because of escalating costs, the need for greater access for all

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how technology has impacted the health care delivery system. Health care technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid rate in the United States, and globally. Patients and providers are witnessing these changes through the use of telehealth, and telemedicine applications. Telehealth, and telemedicine are often used interchangeably, however there is a difference between the two applications. Telehealth is the use of technology to deliver health care, health information, or health education at a distance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).

Some health insurance providers and employers have health advocates, usually registered nurses, these experts provide medical advice and save the individual time in emergency departments and the doctor’s office unnecessarily. According to Sewell (2016), “Telenursing offers nurses a chance create more collaborative and autonomous roles and at the same time reduce the overall cost of healthcare” (p.322). My experience with telehealth is limited to home health care, our company would have us follow up high risk new admissions with a daily phone call for the first

Telehealth has been a large topic of debate in recent years because of the economic, political, and regulatory points of view. In deciding outcomes in these areas, it is the responsibility of all healthcare professions to identify information gaps in order to come to the more rational and beneficial conclusion about telehealth (Grace, 2014). Economically, there are concerns regarding the access and affordability of telehealth equipment. At the same time, telehealth is being adapted in ways to be utilized with technological devices that many individuals already have access to like telephones, cellular phones, and personal computers/laptops. Telehealth can positively impact both clients and providers by increasing access to care and reducing the time and costs associated with traveling for health care (Allen, Aylott, Loyola, Moric, & Saffarek, 2015). As telehealth develops technological devices can be made more affordable and can be covered by insurance policies (Thomas et al., 2014). Many nurses functioning as case managers can help provide the tools and resources individuals require to manage their health.

Nurses may use different tools, such as computers, and teleconferences by telephone or video to deliver services to their patients. Healthcare reform’s primary goal is to expand health care access to the different populations that have been underserved. These populations include the poor, minorities, and rural communities. With so many challenges that lie ahead as more people seek to access primary care clinicians, telenursing presents itself as an important tool in meeting these needs. Therefore, it is important to know one’s role as a

Telehealth is one of the major types of Health Care Information Systems (HCIS) that enables providers to connect with patients and consulting practitioners across remote areas to support patient and clinician education, diagnosis and treatment, chronic disease management and monitoring, and provider-to-provider interactions (Grube, Kaufman, Clarin, & O’Riordan, 2016, p.43). Telehealth is not a new idea. It initially started in 1950’s and 1960’s when the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute started the closed-circuit TV to monitor patients in rural areas where health care is not easily accessible (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015). The development of internet and broadband and

Telemedicine has provided better access to health care to many individuals that would otherwise not be able to get required health care services. Telehealth is a means to improve access to care, while reducing costs of transportation and increasing accessibility to patients in obtaining care. Telemedicine allows for healthcare information to be shared with treatment team members that are separated miles from each other with the ability to communicate in a timely manner. For information technology to impact care, one has to be knowledgeable about the use of technology

In this literature review, this writer will discuss the reasons for the historical lack of adoption of telehealth in medical practices and explain why that is. This writer will also look at some studies that demonstrate how telehealth has been enthusiastically embraced by some medical providers. Finally, I will offer my opinion on why current

Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) is experiencing difficulty in quantifying the benefits of their telemonitoring services used to provide care to patients recently discharged from hospitals. While the company believes these services provide real value to the patients, hospitals and insurance companies, VNHS is worried about the ability to provide future investment in the technology given the tenuous healthcare reimbursement environment. To continue to grow its telemonitoring services, VHNS should:

The delivery of health care has always been influenced by technological developments and innovations. This is particularly true in modern health care professionals where they are obsessed with technology and rush to apply them. One of the most recent applications of ICT – Information and computer technology- is telehealth. Telehealth is the use of communication, diagnostic and information technology to provide health care when patients and providers are geographically separated [2], Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store -and-forward imaging, streaming media, terrestrial and wireless communications. Telehealth could be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone or as

The study further explains that nurses must assess patients understanding of diagnosis, medications regimens, physical limitations, and patients’ acknowledging their outside resources including community and social supports (Nosbusch, Weiss, and Bobay, 2011, p. 768). Although it is important to make sure that patients understand their discharge plan, nurses must understand that one of the reasons for readmission a short time after discharge is due to poor pre-discharge patients assessment of readiness.

According to the Health Recourses and Services Administration, “Tele health is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long distance clinical healthcare, patient and professional health related education, public health, and health administration”(para 1) . Technology is has taken over our every-day lives and has slowly integrated into our health care system. According to Ronda Hughes, “Tele nursing is the use of technology to deliver nursing care and conduct nursing practice” (para 3). The two terms are closely related. Tele nursing cannot be defined without first defining the term of tele health, but what does the tele heath and nursing world look like? What does a tele nurse do and how is it a benefit to the patients and/or the nursing profession?

There are several forms of technology that is used to monitor, assist patients with self-care management, assist physicians with delivering care to their patients, including consultation with specialist, and overcoming barriers with transportation. “60% of the healthcare executives, physicians, and nurses in this inaugural survey said that telemedicine was a high priority for 2015“ (Vockley, 2015, para. 7) Telemedicine

Telenursing uses the technology for the nurses to do follow-up care with patients. The modern approach of follow-up care comforts the patient. Telenursing, the use of technology to allow nursing from a geographic distance, is used in many different settings including hospitals, home care, and other health related facilities. Telenursing is communicated via many different devices of technology. These are many different advantages in using telenursing rather than disadvantages. There are many different organizations involved in developing telenursing.

The continual increase in technologies, equipment, and ease of patient use will parallel the increases of this insured population. Where face-to-face appointments once took the most part of patient’s day, patients are now transmitting their personal information via electronic devices directly to the nurse in a matter of minutes. Video conferencing can be performed in a minimal amount of time compared to the office visit setting. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages to telenursing and in order to make a possible career changes, those must be examined.