ANP 654 Telehealth Discussion 1 Paper

ANP 654 Telehealth Discussion 1 Paper

ANP 654 Telehealth Discussion 1 Paper

Telehealth

An example of telehealth may involve a patient who lives in a remote area far away from any clinic and suffers from abdominal pain. He quickly uses a medical app on his phone and fills in all the necessary details concerning his ailment. A doctor is notified on the other end after the form on the medical app has been filled out, and a phone connection is made between the doctor and the patient. The doctor can thus provide quality healthcare by making appropriate diagnoses and recommending appropriate drugs to the patients.

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Telehealth is convenient since it enables timely medical care to patients without traveling long distances to healthcare facilities. Patients in remote areas are saved from traveling expenses and time wastage associated with the process (Kho et al., 2020). Besides, telehealth enables those living in remote to easily access quality health services just like their counterparts who are within the hospital’s reach. However, poor network connectivity can be a great stumbling block to effectively implementing telehealth services (Kissi et al., 2020). Also, telehealth does not allow the healthcare provider to examine the patients physically; thus, the healthcare provider may miss out on some important details that may assist in making the correct diagnosis.

As a practitioner, I feel that telehealth can be of great use in managing patients who live in remote areas with mild to moderate conditions that are not constantly threatening their lives. The platform will enable me to provide consultation advice and intervene appropriately. However, telehealth may not be completely effective for patients requiring more medical attention as such patients require more physical examination and treatment (Kho et al., 2020). So yes, telehealth is great; its use is determined by the patient’s condition and internet connectivity. Telehealth is technology based therefore, the information generated by the system can be shared amongst the healthcare providers in real-time irrespective of their physical locations (Kho et al., 2020). Thus, they can give their input on how to provide quality care to the patients. As a healthcare provider, I would listen carefully without interrupting my colleagues’ opinions during the telehealth sessions to get all the information. Also, I would seek their opinions and clarifications on areas I may not be well conversant with. Besides, I would maintain their respect by keeping the information shared confidential.

Patients’ safety and security are major concerns when using HIPAA and telehealth. As noted, telehealth is prone to security threats such as cyber-attacks that may interfere with patient data confidentiality, and patients may be targeted for malicious reasons (Kissi et al., 2020). Therefore, telehealth needs to ensure its data are safely encrypted through firewalls so it cannot be hacked. Also, the system should allow only authorized personnel to access its servers. Another concern is the acquisition of informed consent from the patients, as some healthcare providers may provide medical services without the patient’s consent (Kho et al., 2020). Informed consent is necessary for the provision of any medical services.

References

Kho, J., Gillespie, N., & Martin-Khan, M. (2020). A systematic scoping review of change management practices used for telemedicine service implementations. BMC health services research, 20, 1-16. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12913-020-05657-w.pdf?pdf=button

Kissi, J., Dai, B., Dogbe, C. S., Banahene, J., & Ernest, O. (2020). Predictive factors of physicians’ satisfaction with telemedicine services acceptance. Health informatics journal, 26(3), 1866-1880. https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458219892162

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As telehealth becomes more commonly practiced, there are questions that arise around its effectiveness, patient confidentiality, and legal concerns for practitioners. Respond to the following and support your summary and recommendations plan with a minimum of two APRN-approved scholarly resources.

Describe an example of telehealth.

Explain some of the benefits and limitations that exist for this situation.

Do you feel that as a practitioner you would be able to complete a full assessment of a patient utilizing telehealth?

Collaboration is important in providing care for a patient, describe how telehealth impacts collaboration amongst practitioners.

Discuss how you would ensure that you communicate effectively and respectfully with other health care professionals in the telehealth environment.

Discuss concerns that arise around HIPAA and telehealth. Provide an explanation of legal concerns that you have with implementing telehealth.