Abstract
Telenursing can help medical professionals to improve their time-efficiency. Moreover, this practice is useful for monitoring the health of patients and identifying possible risks. Finally, the application of technologies can reduce the costs that patients and medical institutions should bear. Nevertheless, there are significant challenges such as the threats to the confidentiality of patients and the absence of the regulatory framework.
Introduction
Modern technologies may enable patients to receive various medical services without leaving their homes, even though this opportunity appears to be slightly unrealistic nowadays. This paper is aimed at discussing such a field as telenursing since it can bring significant improvements into the lives of many of many people. In particular, it is critical to discuss the major advantages of such interactions between nurses and patients. For example, much attention should be paid to new opportunities for educational activities of nurses and screening for possible complications (Kumar & Snooks, 2011). Furthermore, one should clearly identify potential problems which medical workers should avoid while using information technologies. Among them, one can distinguish the threats to the confidentiality of patients (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2013). This discussion is useful for understanding the applications of telenursing and its scope. Overall, one can argue that despite possible drawbacks, telenursing will become an inseparable part of healthcare practices. These are the main question that should be discussed in greater detail.
Overview of telenursing
Advantages
It should be mentioned that telenursing can be described as the interaction between nurses and patients who may be separated by long physical distances (Kumar & Snooks, 2011, p. 2). Overall, this practice can be useful in various circumstances. One of the main advantages of this approach is that it reduces patients’ stay in the hospital (William et al., 2012). In particular, such interactions are helpful when medical workers should monitor the state of a person and they cannot discharge him/her earlier. Overall, this approach has benefited various intensive care units (William et al., 2012). Thus, the experiences of patients can be improved significantly.
Apart from that, telenursing is useful for the early identifications of possible risks or complications. One should bear in mind that some patients do not seek medical assistance before their wellbeing is significantly impaired. So, in many cases, medical workers cannot offer them timely assistance. By relying on various information and communications technologies (ICTs), nurses can detect possible complications at the early stages. For instance, they can do it by using on Web cameras or mobile phones. The adoption of this approach has been one of the factors that contributed to the reduction of mortality rate in intensive care units (William et al., 2012). This is another benefit that should be taken into account.
In addition to that, this approach is beneficial provided that a nurse needs to act as an educator who should consult patients about various questions related to their health (Kumar & Snooks, 2011). In many cases, patients have to spend much time in order to travel to the hospital. In turn, the use of information technologies can be a valuable solution to this problem. One should keep in mind that in many cases, the physical presence of a patient is not required (Kumar & Snooks, 2011). Overall, telenursing contributes to better management of medication and compliance with safety procedures. Apart from that, patients will receive adequate educational services as quickly as possible. This is one of the reasons why telenursing becomes more widespread.
Finally, one should not overlook that telenursing is vital for reducing the cost of healthcare. For instance, one can speak about the savings which can be achieved by eliminating travel expenses. This benefit can be of great importance to some low-income people. As it has been said before, this practice is useful for the early identification of possible complications. In turn, many healthcare costs can be explained by the fact, patients do not seek timely assistance as quickly as possible. Admittedly, at this point, this field requires considerable investment from medical institutions. Nevertheless, this investment can be justified in the long term. These are the main advantages that can be distinguished.
Disadvantages
Nevertheless, it is necessary to consider several important risks associated with this practice. For instance, one should speak about privacy and confidentiality of patients (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2013, p, 219). This is one of the risks that patients should be aware of. In turn, the task of nurses is to make sure that this information is not disclosed to any third parties (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2013). The failure to do it can result in significant challenges such as lawsuits. At this point, there are many software applications which can be used to access confidential information without proper authorization. For example, one can mention possible interception of patient’s emails. This is one of the drawbacks that should be taken into account since it can affect many people. In turn, patients should bear in mind that they are also responsible for the security of their information.
Apart from that, one should keep in mind that this field is relatively new, and in many cases, there are no clear procedures or guidelines that nurses should follow. At present, such activities attract close attention of many researchers who want to identify a set of best practices that should be adopted by nurses who rely on information technologies. Nevertheless, this area remained relatively unexamined, especially in comparison with conventional bedside nursing. Additionally, many nursing practitioners may lack necessary skills in order to use ICTs effectively because they obtained their education at the time when telenursing was at the rudimentary stage of its development. As a result, nurses can make errors that can endanger the experiences of patients. These problems should not be overlooked by hospital administrators. Admittedly, this challenge can be overcome with time passing, but at this point, this drawback can significantly limit the applicability of telenursing and further adoption by medical institutions.
Additionally, it is important to understand that the scope of telenursing is very limited. For example, in many cases, the absence of physical contact can deprive the ability of medical workers to identify possible health problems. Therefore, educators should clearly identify the cases when a person should interact with nurses directly within the hospital; otherwise, there is a significant risk of malpractices. In this case, the ethical duty of nurses is to persuade a patient to seek medical assistance. In turn, patients should not assume that telecommunications can be a universal solution to the problems that they encounter. In many cases, they have to see nurses or physicians in person in order to avoid possible complications.
Finally, one should keep in mind that at present telenursing is not properly regulated. Much attention should be paid to the responsibilities of nurses providing medical services with the help of ICTs. Medical workers can provide recommendations to patients, and these recommendations can be misinterpreted due to some technical problems (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2013). Additionally, information technologies facilitate the interactions patients and nurses who can be located in different states. However, a nurse may not have the license to operate in a particular state (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2013, p. 219). Admittedly, the absence of regulatory framework is a temporary limitation; nevertheless, it should not be disregarded because it can have significant implications for patients who may want to file a lawsuit against nurses or other medical workers. This is one of the points that can be made.
Conclusions and recommendations
On the whole, telenursing can be a valuable supplement to many nursing professionals. In many cases, these people can face such difficulties as understaffing or time constraints. In turn, the use of information technologies can assist them in overcoming these difficulties. Nevertheless, this approach cannot be an adequate alternative to bedside nursing. In particular, one should consider such barriers as the absence of physical contact, threats to the confidentiality of patients.
It is possible to offer several recommendations regarding the application of telenursing. At first, policy-makers and educators should focus on the development of nurses’ skills because these professionals should be ready to apply ICTs in order to provide adequate assistance to patients. Secondly, it is critical to develop technologies and procedures that are useful for minimizing potential threats to the confidentiality of patients’ data. Finally, it is critical to adopt regulations that can fully identify the duties and responsibilities of medical workers. These are some of the main details that can be distinguished.
At present, telenursing is not one of the employment options that I would consider. In particular, I would not work in an organization that provides only telenursing services. In my opinion, the key problem is the absence of relevant regulations that one should adhere to. At present, I work in a healthcare organization, but I will rely on ICTs as one of the tools for improving the experiences of patients. These are the main arguments that can be advanced.
Reference List
Burkhardt, M., & Nathanial, A. (2013).Ethics and Issues in Contemporary Nursing. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
Kumar, S., & Snooks, H. (2011).Telenursing. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.
William, L., Hubbard, K., Daye, O., & Barden, C. (2012). Telenursing in the Intensive Care Unit: Transforming Nursing Practice. Critical Care Nurse. 32(6), 62-69.