In this scenario, a patient has been discharged from the hospital after a rehabilitation course following open-heart surgery. The person may still be at risk and affected by a variety of issues, but it is inconvenient for him or her to visit the clinic or call an ambulance due to factors such as distance or difficulty moving. As such, the medical facility has decided to use a telehealth system to monitor the patient’s condition and help him or her deal with any complications. This paper outlines the design of the system on both sides.
Many of the issues that can surface after open-heart surgery do not require direct medical intervention. For example, Greve and Pedersen (2016) claim that nursing interventions during rehabilitation are not sufficient to combat sleep issues that may result from the operation. As such, the telehealth system will focus on gathering and providing information. A special room, two PCs with Internet connections, video conference equipment such as cameras and microphones, shared video call software, and trained medical personnel will be necessary at the primary level (Fouad, 2015). It should be noted that the sessions will not be free, but according to Donelan et al. (2019), most patients will accept a payment of $10-25 per session. Depending on the situation, additional tools, such as alarm buttons in case of a heart attack, will be necessary.
The telehealth system used in this case will have the exchange of information as to its primary goal. As such, it will require the use of essential video conference equipment on both sides as well as a dedicated space and a trained worker on the medical facility’s end. There will be a cost attached to each session, which should be low, in this case, the patient will accept the fee in exchange for improved care quality and outcomes.
References
Donelan, K., Barreto, E. A., Sossong, S., Michael, C., Estrada, J. J., Cohen, A. B.,… & Schwamm, L. H. (2019). Patient and clinician experiences with telehealth for patient follow-up care. The American Journal of Managed Care, 25(1), 40-44.
Fouad, H. (2016). Embedded system design of remote healthcare monitoring center using web-technology. International Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 2(2), 59-64.
Greve, H., & Pedersen, P. U. (2016). Improving sleep after open heart surgery: Effectiveness of nursing interventions. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 6(3), 15-22.