Telehealth
Colina Hill RE: Discussion – Week 6 Initial responseCOLLAPSE
Discussion week 6 Initial Response
Telehealth is a trend that has been evolving for several years and recent events have become a predominant use in healthcare visits. Telehealth is a potential tool to deliver health care and decrease exposure risk (Goodman-Casanova et al., 2020). Telehealth is a tool that people with limited resources have to access healthcare when they otherwise would not have been able to. As defined by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) “telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status” (What is Telehealth, 2020).
A remote system means the usual methods of counter-checking are missing. The identity of both, the patient as well as the provider, may be unclear to each other. There are security issues related to patient data especially of the patient’s personal information. Lastly, distance can remain a barrier for effective education and training of remote staff, posing a threat to evidence-based up-to-date delivery of care(Maeder et al., 2016). As well there are other disadvantages to Teladoc such as the ability of a physician to do a hands-on assessment there is also the need for the patient to have the readiness and ability to learn in this manner. On the other hand, there are many potential benefits that telehealth has to offer. One of these benefits can be ongoing monitoring for patients in their homes instead of an observation hospital stay. Furthermore, on-demand remote medical care via telephone and video conferencing technology giving patients the opportunity to speak with a physician that can diagnose problems such as respiratory infections, flu, allergy, or skin issues anytime or place increasing access to healthcare while lowering costs.
Telehealth will give a quicker, cost-effective, and more accessible care. Having 24/7 direct access to healthcare will enhance patient control, autonomy, and overall health this will contribute to improvements in patient outcomes, efficiencies, and data management.
References
Goodman-Casanova, J., Dura-Perez, E., Guzman-Parra, J., Cuesta-Vargas, A., & Mayoral-Cleries, F. (2020). Telehealth home support during covid-19 confinement for community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia: Survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(5), e19434. https://doi.org/10.2196/19434
Maeder, A., Mars, M., Hartvigsen, G., Basu, A., Abbott, P., & Gogia, S. B. (2016). Unintended consequences of tele health and their possible solutions. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 25(01), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.15265/iy-2016-012
What is telehealth. (2020). AAP.org. https://www.aap.org/en-us/professional-resources/practice-transformation/telehealth/Pages/What-is-Telehealth.aspx
Kyle Johnson RE: Discussion – Week 6COLLAPSE
Healthcare technology is constantly advancing and improving the way health care is delivered. The goal with a lot of healthcare trends is to make patient health information readily available such as with the electronic health record, patient portal systems, and monitoring devices such as the Apple Watch with technologies capable of performing an EKG. One of the biggest health care trends was the creation of the electronic health record (EHR). The EHR contains patient information from demographics to health issues. The EHR increased the portability of patient health information from facility to facility (HealthIT.gov, 2019). The EHR also helped to make finding patient health information easier on health care workers when looking for focused information instead of having to read through a paper chart (Laureate Education, 2018). Even with the many benefits that the EHR offers some facilities still use paper charting. For example, Catawaba Hospital in Virginia, a state psychiatric facility, still uses paper charting.
One down fall to the EHR is not all EHRs can communicate with each other (Palma, n.d.). This makes it hard for physicians to follow patients throughout their life span unless the patient reports that they had a visit to urgent care or the hospital. For psychiatric visits, patients might not even want their psychiatric records associated with their health records, especially with substance abuse. The electronic record allows physicians to be more detailed to prove the need for a higher level of billing, but this can make documenting time-consuming (Palma, n.d.). HIPAA violations are also a possibility with EHR such as wanting to look into family members’ care.
One potential security risk associated with the EHR would be data breaches. Potential hackers or non-law abiding citizens might seek to gain access to the EHR to gain personal information for identity fraud (IPRO, 2018). This can be prevented by only accessing the EHR on secure networks, and not giving out your user credentials. In 1996 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was created to protect patient information (HHS.gov, 2013). This law ensures the safety and security of patient information holding those who break the law accountable with fines or jail time.
Benefits to the EHR include portability, accessibility, and improved quality of patient care. The EHR allows access to patient information anywhere in the healthcare facility to those with access. The EHR increases communication throughout the healthcare team allowing notes from the night team to be viewed by the day team increasing patients’ quality of care. The EHR contributes to big data leading to better patient outcomes. A nursing informatics specialist can use this data to create new technology that can be lifesaving.
The EHR continues to be a huge impact in healthcare and nursing practice. This increases communication between nursing staff and allows for a place to document care provided by nurses. It also allows for information to be captured and shared with patients in the form of a patient portal system. This allows patients to be a part of their health care. The EHR was a great starting point for other technologies such as transmitters that sends vital signs from the machine into the EHR.
References
HealthIT.gov. (2019). What is an Electronic Health Record (EHR)? Retrieved from. https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record-ehr
HHS.gov. (2013). Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule. Retrieved from. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/laws-regulations/index.html
IPRO. (2018). 4 Top EHR Security Concerns and How to Address them. Retrieved from. https://www.ipromedia.us/electronic-health-record-security-concerns/#:~:text=EHR%20is%20particularly%20vulnerable%20to,access%20to%20a%20company’s%20data.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Electronic Records and Managing IT Change [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Palma, G. (n.d.). Electronic Health Records: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Becker’s Health IT. Retrieved from. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/electronic-health-records-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.html#:~:text=Since%20EHRs%20allow%20for%20easier,accessed%20when%20and%20by%20whom.
