Advantages Of Telenursing

When we hear the word telehealth what comes to mind? Perhaps, technology, computer savvy, 100 page learning manual or the future of nursing. This new generation is composed of technology, toddles walk around with their iPads, but what about the older generation, the one that will benefit from telehealth, how easy it is for them to learn how to use a new device, operate an iPad, or start a video conference. According to (Hebda, 2013) telehealth is “the use of telecommunications technologies and electronic information to exchange healthcare information and to provide and support services such as long-distance clinical healthcare to clients.” Telehealth is an umbrella term that is subdivided into several categories and one of them is telenursing

Although the delivery of care is different, the nursing process and scope of practice does not differ with telenursing. As a telehealth nurse you continue to “assess, plan, intervene and evaluate the outcomes of nursing care,” (Fairchild, Elfrink and Deickman, 2008). Anyone that qualifies for Telehealth must have internet, phone lines, computers to deliver services. An advantage of Telenursing is that the patient does not have to wait for the nurse to visit and with the shortage of nurses this technology offers increased productivity since the nurse does not have to travel to the patient. Lastly, the equipment use allows for accurate monitoring of the patient, “Peripheral devices placed in patients’ homes such as thermometers, sphygmomanometers, and stethoscopes are connected to the telehealth equipment so telenurses can monitor clinical signs remotely.” (Schlachta, Elfrink, & Deickman,

This technology allows more patients to be seen and care for. Patients can reach a medical personal faster without having to wait on the phone or visiting the ED, and example a CHF patient gets on the scale a gained 5 within one day, the telehealth nurse receives the data and calls the patient, according to the assessment the nurse decides that this patient has to go to the ED or perhaps she just needs to call he pcp and increase Lasix. Lastly, the equipment used with telehealth allows for acute monitoring of the patient. “Peripheral devices placed in patients’ homes such as thermometers, sphygmomanometers, and stethoscopes are connected to the telehealth equipment so telenurses can monitor clinical signs remotely.” (Schlachta, Elfrink, & Deickman, 2008). Now that I know this information I’m starting to think that telenursing could be a possible future specialty for nurses, but how about the patient, is this technology for