Over the years, the field of medicine has undergone several changes for the improvement and effectiveness of its services. The technology field is one new development which has impacted medicine, and it has impacted medicine in mostly positive ways. Telemedicine is a field that deals with treatment and diagnosis of medical problems via telecommunication technology. Telemedicine involves offering care of services when distance is an issue. Remote healthcare services can be offered efficiently through tele-care across remote regions. Telepharmacy, video telemedicine, internet, fax, e-mails, computers and radios are example of tools that are used for telemedicine.
Telepharmacy involves the use of the Internet in prescribing and issuing drugs to patients. Although the use of telepharmacy has been adopted in many hospitals, it is important to encourage extensive use of this tool in every health institution. Telepharmacy also involves the use of video-conferencing for education, management and training purposes. The use of online drugstores by pharmacists has been extensively used over the years and has attracted many other healthcare professionals to use this system (Angaran, 1999). This use has improved pharmaceutical care in various hospitals and has made possible the provision of services to any patient regardless of the distance.
The telephone is used as a tool for offering healthcare services to people in remote areas, having changed from its former mode of access and use as a dialing and talking instrument. It plays a key role in multimedia access and in the provision of quality health services through its use in monitoring patients, conducting therapies, and providing counseling services and healthcare authorizations. Medical a...
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Telemedicine can be as simple as a telephone conversation among two doctors at different locations or as complex as using satellite technology to provide a consultation between a doctor and a patient that are located in different countries.
Kansas is considered a rural state in the United States. Merriam-Webster (2012) defines rural theoretically as “open land” or “relating to the country, country people or life, or agriculture”. The U.S. Census Bureau considers rural to be “open country and settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents” (Cromartie, 2007). Nearly 17% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, which is about 80% of all U.S. territory (Cromartie, 2009). What this means that there is more land mass compared to the people inhabiting the land; rural communities have fewer people living in larger, more remote areas. Individuals living in rural communities have different cultures and experiences than those living in urban communities, which can become problematic in regards to healthcare.
Telehealth is the monitoring via remote exchange of physiological data between a patient at home and health care professionals at hospitals or clinics to assist with diagnosis and treatment. As our society ages and health care costs increase, government and private insurance payers are seeking technological interventions. Technological solutions may provide high quality healthcare services at a distance, utilize professional resources more effectively, and enable elderly and ill patients to remain in their own homes. Patients may experience decreased hospitalization and urgent care settings, and out of home care may not be required as the patient is monitored at home. However, no study has been able to prove telehealth benefits conclusively. This change in health care delivery presents new ethical concerns, and new relationship boundaries between health care professionals, patients, and family members. This paper will discuss telehealth benefits in specific patient populations, costs benefits of using telehealth, and concerns of using telehealth.
The purpose of telemedicine is to remove distance as a barrier to health care. While telehealth is an accepted resource to bridge the gap between local and global health care, integrating telehealth into existing health infrastructures presents a challenge for both governments and policy makers (HRSA, 2011). Today there are policy barriers that prevent the expansion of telehealth, including reimbursement issues raised by Medicare and private payers, state licensure, and liability and privacy concerns.
Telepsychiatry has been used for many years and is highly regarded as an area where the use of telemedicine has been successful. It has been defined as “The delivery of healthcare and the exchange of healthcare information for purposes of providing psychiatric services across distances” (Woo...
Telenursing is the application of information and telecommunications technology to offer the nursing or healthcare services to the patients. The most advanced field of telehealth is in household telenursing healthcare. Telenursing devices like computers, telephones and videophones enable nurses to increase successfully the patient numbers seen daily while reducing the entire workload (Arnaert & Delesie, 2001). Nurses are capable of doing this without having to leave the doctor’s office or hospital hence saving a considerable amount of
Telemedicine is a new comer to the field of medicine and it is the treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology. Telemedicine is carried out in a variety of ways whether it is by smart phone, wireless tools or other forms of telecommunications. Examples of telemedicine include: 1) transmission of medical images 2) care services at the home of the patient 3) Diagnosis at distance 4) education and training of patients. The diversity of practices in what is known as telemedicine raises many questions and one of those questions, which is extremely important, relate to the safety of the practice and the risks involved.
Telehealth allows a lower-level healthcare practitioner to communicate with a physician or specialist when necessary. Remote rural areas use a Physician Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner on location in remote areas. When procedures call for a physician, an internet or satellite link provides a teleconference with a physician who can prescribe appropriate treatment (Gangon, Duplantie, Fortin & Landry 2006). This could be implemented in lower income urban areas, allowing free clinics to lower costs, and require fewer physicians. Programs that increase the level of healthcare available to school children could be increased.
The healthcare service such as inpatient services, outpatient services, emergency department, and intensive care units are located in different locations. The clinicians need to be able to communicate and collaborate with various department and people.1 The use of cell phones enables clinicians to communicate via text message, voice call, video conference and or e-mail. The communication and collaboration among the healthcare providers keep healthcare team on the same page regarding a
Telenursing is defined as the delivery, management, and coordination of care and services provided via telecommunications technology within the domain of nursing (American Association of Ambulatory Care Nursing, 2004). The terms “telehealth nursing,” and “telenursing,” are used interchangeably. To illustrate telehealth nursing the terms “home telehealth nursing” and “telehomecare nursing” are expressions having the same meaning. Both of these terms describe using technology and advancements in health care in the home care setting, in order to deliver nursing care remotely by a qualified health care provider.
One form of the internet based communication is videoconferences that are commonly used by doctors in...
From state and federal levels, the healthcare industry has come a very long way, experiencing changes along the way. The development of advanced technology that has enhanced the quality of healthcare delivery systems will help all patients to be able to benefit. Doctors are able to access patient records at a faster rate and respond to their patients in a much more timely fashion. E-mail, electronic transfer of records and telemedicine will give all patients and physicians the tools needed to be more efficient, deliver quality care and deliver quality telecommunication at a faster pace than before.
Telehealth nurses use the nursing process to provide care for individual patients or defined patient populations over a telecommunication device” (Stokowski, 2008). Computer technology allows for nurses to facilitate care at a distance and although still in its transitioning phases, telehealth and telenursing will hopefully rectify the problem of the nation’s nursing shortage. The term ‘telenursing’ is not completely new. What was once the more popular ‘advice nurse’ or phone ‘triage nurse’, is now the new and improved telenurse. Telenursing allows for a nurse have real-time 2-way interaction with the patient.