please respond to the following post:
In my work setting as a Pre-Op/PACU nurse at an ambulatory surgery center, we do not provide telehealth as an option for our patients. We do, however, perform follow-up calls on all of our patients to assess for infection development and overall recovery status. From the nursing standpoint, telehealth has mixed reviews on its effectiveness. The major problem nurses reported when working in telehealth according to Koivunen & Saranto (2018), is the lack of IT skills required to facilitate these appointments. Often experience difficulty troubleshooting and handling ICT equipment due to “inadequate support and training and insufficient experience in using telehealth” (p. 41). It can be very frustrating for nurses trying to check in patients and perform assessment questions before the provider comes when they are faced with technological difficulties they do not know how to fix. These problems can be solved by further training and additional IT staff to assist nursing staff with troubleshooting. In addition to troubles on the health providers’ side, patients often face technological difficulties that prevent them from utilizing this platform. At my work, we have an online medical history we encourage our patients to complete before their procedure to ensure we have all necessary medical information. Our cataract patients have the greatest difficulty completing this form because of their vision difficulties. Telehealth appointments may not be possible for this patient population. Similarly, challenges are often reported by older generations who are not as privy to the use of new technology and tend to require additional assistance navigating telehealth sites.
Some of the benefits seen with telehealth visits include “low cost…decrease travel time… increase communication with providers…increase access to care…decreases missed appointments…decreases wait times, decreases readmissions and improves medication adherence” (Kruse et al, 2017, p. 10). Write a discussion paper on Telehealth responseThe majority of patients reported great satisfaction with telehealth systems. As a patient, I do have experience with telehealth where a few of my providers offer this as an alternative to in person visits. I personally really enjoy telehealth visits because they are easier to work into my busy schedule. Comparing my experience with the benefits listed previously, I no longer cancel any of my appointments and I find that I have more time to discuss problems with my doctor than I do in person. Telehealth visits saves time on both sides, for doctors, nurses and patients. Telehealth is a great option for many patients; however, I do not believe it should be the main way for providers to meet with their patients. There is a great deal of information that you are unable to retrieve with telehealth than you can in person. Not everyone has a way to check their vital signs at home or knows how to properly obtain vital signs. Vital signs are very important information to obtain at every appointment because it can alert the nurse and the provider to problems the patient is unaware. In addition, performing head-to-toe assessments and other focused assessments are as important as interviewing the patient for symptoms. For patients with hypertension, accurate and recurrent readings are very important to ensure treatment is effective.
References
Kruse, C., Krowski, N., Rodriguez, B., Tran, L., Vela, J., & Brooks, M. (2017). Telehealth and
patient satisfaction: A systematic review and narrative analysis. BMJ Open, 7(8). 1-12.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016242
Koivunen, M., & Saranto, K. (2018). Nursing professionals’ experiences of the facilitators and
barriers to the use of telehealth applications: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 32(1), 24-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12445
