Preparing Nurses for Roles in Telehealth: Now is the Time! (original) (raw)
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Nurse Practitioners in Telehealth: Bridging the Gaps in Healthcare Delivery
The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 2014
There is no denying that many changes must be made in the health care delivery system in order to meet the needs of all people and improve the health of our nation. Because of advances in technology over the past 2 decades, telehealth has greatly improved patient access to health care and equipped providers with innovative tools to provide quality health care to a larger population. The health care climate demands an innovative approach to health care delivery with an attention to scalable and sustainable models. Telehealth, and the use of nurse practitioners, will be an integral part of these new models.
Reflections on a Canadian Online Telehealth Course: Going Forward with Telehealth Nursing
Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 2015
Telehealth is the provision of health care through the use of information and communication technology (ICT), a mode of delivery that is becoming mainstream in various acute and home care settings in Canada and abroad. Telehealth is now gaining acceptance by patients and health-care providers, as it is seen as an effective and convenient alternative to faceto-face interactions. Its potential is closely tied to a booming and quickly evolving technology industry. Yet, ironically, the training and professional development necessary for the optimal use of telehealth are lagging behind, leaving nurses and allied health professionals ill equipped and unprepared for the rapid changes taking place. Many providers are being trained on the job, through trial and error, as telehealth is not yet a standard part of health-professional curricula. This has resulted in feelings of frustration and resistance (Bulik & Shokar, 2010). The situation is similar for nurses engaged in telepractice, despite the fact that telehealth nursing is one of the fastest-growing areas of nursing (Allen, Aylott, Loyola, Moric, & Saffarek, 2015). In order to address this training issue, the Office of Continuing Education at the Université de Moncton took the initiative in 2012 to develop, with the support of Health Canada and the university's Consortium National de Formation en Santé, a French-language online telehealth course, offered free of charge and open to various health professionals. The online course consists of seven modules that offer an overview of the history and functionality of telehealth in a variety of contexts using an eLearning platform. As well as the history of telehealth and an introduction to its services, the modules cover the use of various ICTs (including mobile health applications), organizational and professional aspects of telehealth service delivery, and the use of technology to facili
Telehealth across nursing education: Findings from a national study
Journal of Professional Nursing
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Nurses: Extending Care Through Telehealth
Nurses have an immense impact on the growth and scope of Telehealth as they embrace diverse roles. TeleNursing introduces transformational change which positively impacts both clients and providers, increasing access to care and reducing the time and costs associated with traveling for health care. Integration of clinical support and remote diagnostic tools inspire new uses of Telehealth, thus enabling care previously only possible in person to be delivered virtually. Nurses currently leverage Telehealth to deliver care and education, monitor clients remotely and support medical consultations. Over 90% of Island Health nurses surveyed recommend Telehealth as a care modality to clients and 100% support Telehealth as a means to increase care to vulnerable communities. Programs wish to increase uptake of TeleNursing but face numerous challenges regarding funding, resourcing, scheduling and geographical ownership. TeleNursing goes beyond clinical support and has the potential to exponentially expand Telehealth services, normalizing Telehealth as a care modality. Nurses look to Telehealth to improve their ability to partner with clients over distance, providing surgical care, maternal/pediatric care and group education
Telemedicine and e-Health
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development of telehealth services and thus the need for telehealth education and training to support rapid implementation at scale. A national survey evaluating the current state of the telehealth landscape was deployed to organizational representatives, and included questions related to education and training. Materials and Methods: In the summer of 2020, 71 survey participants (31.8%) completed an online survey seeking to determine the utilization of telehealth services across institutional types and locations. This included data collected to specifically compare the rates and types of formal telehealth education provided before and during the pandemic. Results: Thirty percent of organizations reported no telehealth training before COVID-19, with those in suburban/rural settings significantly less likely to provide any training (55% vs. 82%) compared with urban. Pandemic-related training changes applied to 78% of organizations, with more change happening to those without any training before COVID-19 (95%). Generally, organizations offering training before the pandemic reported deploying COVID-19-related telehealth services, while a higher percentage of those without any training beforehand reported that they either did not plan on providing these services or were in the early planning stages. Discussion: Telehealth education is moving from elective to essential based on the need to prepare and certify the workforce to support high-quality telehealth services. Conclusions: As telehealth continues to evolve to meet the future health care service needs of patients and providers, education and training will advance to meet the needs of everyday clinical encounters and broader public health initiatives.
JMIR Nursing, 2020
Background In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many health care organizations have adopted telehealth. The current literature on transitioning to telehealth has mostly been from large health care or specialty care organizations, with limited data from safety net or community clinics. Objective This is a case report on the rapid implementation of a telehealth hub at an academic nurse-managed community clinic in response to the national COVID-19 emergency. We also identify factors of success and challenges associated with the transition to telehealth. Methods This study was conducted at the George Mason University Mason and Partners clinic, which serves the dual mission of caring for community clinic patients and providing health professional education. We interviewed the leadership team of Mason and Partners clinics and summarized our findings. Results Mason and Partners clinics reacted quickly to the COVID-19 crisis and transitioned to telehealth within 2 weeks of the statewide lo...
Training the Next Generation of Care Providers:Focus on Telehealth
Healthcare Transformation, 2015
The rapid growth of telehealth for healthcare delivery has exposed the lack of training available in North America to prepare all levels of clinicians for this modality. Issues range from care coordination to legal and ethical implications to new ways of engaging patients. This article describes a comprehensive curriculum for telehealth training developed at Thomas Jefferson UniversiTy. The core curriculum is intended for all levels of clinicians as telehealth facilitators and uses the Jefferson Interactive Curricula Experience (iCE) Platform and Application. A targeted curriculum has been developed for a fellowship in emergency medicine to prepare high level researchers and leaders in telehealth.
Telenursing: A Viable Nursing Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Philippine Journal of Nursing, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the delivery of vital health and nursing services uniquely challenged. Restrictions in social mobility, fear of contraction, and risks of transmission posed by this pandemic prompted healthcare institutions to deliver health care services remotely using information and telecommunications technologies, also known as telehealth. Telenursing is one of the components of telehealth. Although there are several strides in the use of nursing-related technologies in the country, telenursing is not a mainstream nursing service. Exploring telenursing and articulating the roles of nurses in this care delivery model is imperative given the current paradigm shift to telehealth and telemedicine in the healthcare system. This article provides a context for telenursing use in the local setting by providing factors affecting its implementation. A literature search was conducted to identify the benefits, challenges, requirements, competencies, activities, and outcomes of telenursing. Despite the limitations posed by this pandemic, telenursing offers a viable, cost-effective, and patient-centered approach in health services delivery. The implications in nursing practice, education, and research are explained.