Introduction
The utilization of telehealth technology is merely one example of how nurses are at the forefront of patient treatment and the major forces behind progress in the medical field. The significance of telehealth in healthcare is soaring as medicinal innovation proceeds, allowing caregivers additional options to boost client experiences and expand access to excellent care. The justification for choosing telehealth is that it can increase patient convenience, simultaneously decreasing costs to the sector of healthcare and expanding alternatives for professionals. In addition, this technology intrigues me because it enables patients to have appointments near where they live instead of traversing great distances.
I utilized Summon, part of the Capella library search query, to look for publications about telehealth. Furthermore, I looked up scholarly papers and articles relating to nursing and allied fields in various databases, which included Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, and Sage. While in the databases, I searched for scientific, peer-reviewed published papers released within the previous five years to narrow the search to current materials. Additionally, I looked for sources by employing search terms such as “advantages and barriers of telehealth,” “telehealth and service delivery,” “evolution of telehealth,” and “telemedicine” to ensure the publications were pertinent to the subject of the technology.
Recommendation
Understanding how videoconferencing technology can assist clients, caregivers, and the medical care sector is vital as the significance of telehealth in nursing practice broadens. According to the four publications, integrating telehealth operations into nursing can substantially reduce medical expenses and enhance client outcomes by guaranteeing that many people can access timely nursing care. Workflow aspects, financial considerations, cultural or social influences, patient considerations, and policy and laws are among the organizational elements influencing physicians’ adoption and choice of technology inside a hospital setting. Technology choice in workflow-related areas is affected by inadequate training, poor infrastructure, and decision-making. A significant financial aspect influencing technology selection is low starting costs, whereas cultural influences on the adoption include attitudes and perceptions of the technology and organizations’ culture. Additionally, policies like privacy, clear rules, and protocols impact the choice of technology, as do client approval and security.
By overcoming structural hurdles, including transportation, long wait schedules, childcare obligations, unfavorable consultation timeframes, and regional care practitioner deficits, telehealth is appropriate to enhance medical delivery and patient outcomes in economically underprivileged populations. According to Driessen et al. (2018), telehealth ensures better healthcare quality and proper management of readmissions, thus enhancing the efficiency of treatment and reducing healthcare costs. Keenan et al. (2021) believe that telehealth improves ethical practice in nursing since the technology uses encryptions to safeguard client confidentiality and establish a secure channel for communication. Nurses are frequently a client’s initial source of assistance when requesting medical attention and their primary resource for long-term wellness surveillance and health awareness, hence the need for privacy.
During the COVID-19 epidemic, telehealth services showed a considerable increase in demand. According to Campbell & Goldstein (2022), telehealth was generally accepted by patients and caregivers as a practical delivery strategy compared to in-patient visits. This is because telehealth minimizes health costs and prevents the spread of coronavirus by facilitating social distancing. New York City became a global coronavirus epicenter during the pandemic’s peak. Ramaswamy et al. (2020) surveyed a single medical facility in New York to determine patient satisfaction with telehealth.
Conclusion
The results showed that most clients were pleased with telehealth services because they saved on travel expenses, accompanied by time and cost reductions and less disruption to the patient’s family. Due to its simplicity, capacity to enhance performance, boost interaction, and lower expenses, telehealth is crucial for healthcare practitioners and patients.
References
Campbell, D. R., & Goldstein, H. (2022). Evolution of telehealth technology, evaluations, and therapy: Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric speech-language pathology services. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(1), 271-286. Web.
Driessen, J., Castle, N. G., & Handler, S. M. (2018). Perceived benefits, barriers, and drivers of telemedicine from the perspective of skilled nursing facility administrative staff stakeholders. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 37(1), 110-120. Web.
Keenan, A. J., Tsourtos, G., & Tieman, J. (2021). The value of applying ethical principles in telehealth practices: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(3), e25698. Web.
Ramaswamy, A., Yu, M., Drangsholt, S., Ng, E., Culligan, P. J., Schlegel, P. N., & Hu, J. C. (2020). Patient satisfaction with telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: Retrospective cohort study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e20786. Web.