Telehealth And The Importance Of Telenursing

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.).

Telehealth Introduction Telehealth is the use of technology for the exchange of health information in a two way communication from one location to another using a variety of tools or applications. Tools and applications such as smart phone devices, video conferencing, emails, and other wireless applications are used for the convenience and improvement of delivery of healthcare. It has the advantage of connecting healthcare personnel and primary care provider with patients and provides knowledge through the network system regarding patient care and monitoring (Katzman, 2013). Telehealth is a cost effective way for the Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP) to have the ability to reach a wider geographical area and broader populations.

Telehealth services refers to the exchange of health information and services through telecommunication services in order to support anyone, at any time, in any location. Telehealth systems allows doctors to be in one place and treat patients in rural or urban areas – such as their homes or any another providers premises. The technology behind such concept is particularly helpful for patients with trouble leaving the house, or that live in remote areas from specialists (Narisi, 2013)

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 purpose of telemedicine is to remove distance as a barrier to health care. While telehealth is an accepted resource to bridge the gap between local and global health care, integrating telehealth into existing health infrastructures presents a challenge for both governments and policy makers (HRSA, 2011). Today there are policy barriers that prevent the expansion of telehealth, including reimbursement issues raised by Medicare and private payers, state licensure, and liability and privacy concerns.

In this discussion, it is indispensable to review issues concerning telehealth, ethical issues and nursing relevance, and implications for nursing in an effort to renew healthcare as a whole.

Increasing access to quality health care services is a problem that can be tackled with emerging technology, such as Telehealth. Telehealth is becoming universally essential for efficient, cost-effective delivery of health care across a variety of settings (Bashshur & Shannon, 2010). Telehealth is proving to be an effective tool in combatting the problem of provider shortages as evidenced by rural hospitals starting to provide electronic consultations with specialists all over the country (Betbeze, 2017). Although telehealth technologies were originally aimed at improving access to health care for geographically remote patients, the areas of care being used by telehealth has extended its use well beyond those who are geographically isolated

Telehealth is the monitoring via remote exchange of physiological data between a patient at home and health care professionals at hospitals or clinics to assist with diagnosis and treatment. As our society ages and health care costs increase, government and private insurance payers are seeking technological interventions. Technological solutions may provide high quality healthcare services at a distance, utilize professional resources more effectively, and enable elderly and ill patients to remain in their own homes. Patients may experience decreased hospitalization and urgent care settings, and out of home care may not be required as the patient is monitored at home. However, no study has been able to prove telehealth

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

This qualitative, descriptive study used face-to-face interviews with twelve participants to assess what the client experienced when a nurse used telehealth technology to conduct case management visits.

The application of telehealth by home health agencies continues to grow widely and reduce the need for hospitalization. This is made possible by the use of teleconference tools, tele nursing and tele care. With these tools the nurse will be able to have access to website from their offices with their own personal computer

There is an increasing need within the U.S. for quality health care to be provided to individuals who have limited access whether it is due to a rural environment, disabilities, or in the field of battle. Telemedicine is literally medicine provided at a distance. Telehealth is able to alleviate some of the effects of a growing shortage of professionals such as primary care physicians. In this type of health care delivery, the dynamics between the patient and the entire health care system changes. Telemedicine meets the increasing demands of patients to have greater access, or responsiveness, from a health care provider. It also meets the needs of the provider who is very interested in time-saving, safety-enhancing assistance in their daily practice. Employers and health plans are also very interested in telemedicine as a means of improving compliance with treatment plans and care management initiatives (Hodgkins, 2008). The use of email also allows the patient to have increased access to their health care providers. Instead of calling their health care provider’s office, patients are now able to email their non-emergent health care questions to their provider. Conversely, health care providers are able to email patients reminders for appointments or wellness tips.

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 has allowed for nurse to continue cares of their patient even after they are discharged from hospital. “The ICN defines telenursing as follows. Telenursing refers to the use of telecommunications technology in nursing to enhance patient care”. (Kamei, 2013). There are many ways to communicate and gather information about the patient via landline phones, cell phones, videophones, personal computers, patient-specific information input terminals, tablet computers, and smart phone. These devices are essential for providing health care professional and nursing consult and mentor patients. (Kamei, 2013). Telenurses monitor patient continuously paying attention to their non-verbal cues, and tone of voice, breathing rate to determine if there are any issues of concern. “The key to effectively forming and maintaining the nurse-patient relationship lies in the nurse’s ability to interact and communicate with the patient.” (Jones, Hendricks, & Cope, 2012). According to Kamei, there are five principles to follow with telenursing. The first principle is of “building a therapeutic nurse-client relationships”. The second principle is of “providing and documenting care”. The third principle is of “roles and responsibilities”. The fourth principle is “consent, privacy and confidentiality”. And last, the fifth principle is “ethical and legal considerations”. The nurse should be able to establish rapport with patient; be knowledgeable to provide proper education in

Tele-nursing is the practice that employs the use of technological advancements in conducting nursing practice and even providing nursing care services to the patients. The tele-nurses are expected to provide proper assessment of the nursing care before planning to evaluate it with the aid of technological devices such as telephones and computers. The past century has seen a period of phenomenal technological advancement, the integration of technology with our health care delivery system is almost the norm and the potential for these continuing trends will be highlighted. Alongside this, consideration will be given to changing demographics of society and what this will mean in relation to technology use into the future. In terms of where we are now the International Council of Nurses has undertaken a range of activities to support the development of tele-nursing and its application to practice. Several initiatives including key publications, the International Council of Nurses development programme and the future orientated e-health programme, will be explained in this paper. In addition to International Council of Nurses’ developments, a range of a wider factors distilled from the global understanding of tele-nursing development are also discussed in this paper – including, the technology device, quantum progression, regulation and ethics, competence development and the evidential base. Issues of connectivity and interoperability, next-generation telemetry, a