Comments on: Meeting Sets the Stage for Improved Collection of Workforce Data /meeting-sets-stage-improved-collecting-workforce-data/ Future of Nursing Sat, 07 Oct 2017 18:46:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.10 By: Nousky Attor /meeting-sets-stage-improved-collecting-workforce-data/#comment-145 Sat, 07 Oct 2017 18:46:00 +0000 /?p=7590#comment-145 Technological advancements have allowed for revolutionary connectivity. For instance, in a matter of seconds, family members can be contacted a few miles away or a friend that is across the country. This has now become especially true in the healthcare field through a system known as Telehealth/Telemedicine. “Telehealth is a collection of means or methods for enhancing health care, public health, and health education delivery and support using telecommunications technologies. Telehealth encompasses a broad variety of technologies and tactics to deliver virtual medical, health, and education services. Telehealth” is now more commonly used as it describes the wide range of diagnosis and management, education, and other related fields of health care” (Onslow, 2012). When distance separates the medical professional from the patient, this system permits the utilization of electronic correspondence by providing healthcare. This encompasses using equipment such as computers, videophones, fax machines, telephones, etc. Within the comfort of their home, patients can appreciate specialized medical care. Telemedicine can enhance health care over far and distant locations and reduce expenses.
An example of Telemedicine is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory (non-reversible) asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis. This disease is characterized by increasing breathlessness” (Wood, 2013). Telehealth monitoring is fairly new when it pertains to COPD research. Although promising, studies suggest that these interventions show few issues that ought to be considered in future research. “Telehealth has shown promise in the management of chronic disease. Telehealth equipment, such as sending files via smartphone videoconference limits the demands on energy and fine motor skills for people with COPD. For patients with COPD, implementation of telehealth reduced re-admission, emergency room (ER) visits, and disease exacerbation, and was shown to be cost-effective. Telehealth, as a method of delivering healthcare to remote, resource-deprived areas, is not lacking in terms of evidence of benefit; however, the value of its widespread use for monitoring purposes is much less clear” (Sanders, 2015). One advantage of these tools can trigger alerts for patient and physician if certain symptoms are either entered skipped. Therefore, the alerts allow the doctor’s office to keep an eye on the patients or order appropriate medications. Telehealth allows healthcare providers and care managers to have a better comprehension of the difficulties faced by patients and enables them to assist patients in more ways.
Prior to the information (technological) ages, paper documentations were utilized by nurses to receive patient data. An indicative component in healthcare and nursing systems is the transition to electronic documentation. “Although the most effective interventions have involved regular home visits by a nurse, telephone-based interventions also have been found to be effective and because they are more convenient for patients and relatively inexpensive compared with face-to-face encounters, there is a need to further develop and refine these approaches” (Hasson, 2012). Electronic documentation is more efficient than paper documentations because it improves the patient’s information which then enhances the quality of patient care. A well-designed information system can give a less demanding and quicker data stream that is needed for efficient documentation processing. Nurses assume a crucial role in patient’s safety. The aspect of the nursing and electronic documentation benefits patients because it is a procedure that provides an efficient communication between clinicians, plan of care for patients, and direct patient care processes. Nurses are extremely effective in keep track of, systematizing and delivering patient care to ensures quality documentation flow. With the aid of computer software’s, nurses are capable of nurses accumulating and recovering data. They can also integrate clinical data through nursing management resources. This system benefits nurses since it enables them to screen patients remotely in regions for blood weight management, blood pressure, blood glucose and oxygen level via video chats, phone, or email. Nurses can then work with patients to deliver issues proactively to avoid a setback.

References:

Mark Onslow (2012), “What is Telehealth?, Public Health Institute Center for Connected Health Policy”, Telehealth adaptation of the Camperdown Program: a randomised controlled trial Retrieved September 2, 2017 from http://www.cchpca.org/what-is-telehealth

Alice Wood (2013), Oxygen for Muscles in COPD (OM-COPD) Retrieved September 3, 2017 from http://www.copdfoundation.org/What-is-COPD/Understanding-COPD/What-is-COPD.aspx

Lisa Brunton-Peter Bower-Caroline Sanders (October 14, 2015), “The Contradictions of Telehealth User Experience in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis” Retrieved September 3, 2017 from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139561

Dan Hasson (2012) “Health Hit and Health Disparities Patient Provider Telehealth Network using telehealth to improve chronic disease management” Retrieved September 5, 2017 from https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/RCCHCandPHS_CaseStudy.pdf

]]>