Technology Enables Value-based Nursing Care Essay

• Expand on the following discussion by providing additional insights based on readings and evidence. • Please use these 2 references and 2 more APA 6th edition Peer-reviewed references within 2 years. Thanks • 1 • McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. • • Chapter 11, “The Human-Technology Interface” • This chapter describes the human-technology interface and explores some of the problems that result from its usage. The author also reflects on methods for improving the interface. • Chapter 18, “Telenursing and Remote Access Telehealth” • This chapter explores the usage of telehealth in nursing practice. The authors examine the role of telehealth, along with potential issues that may arise in its usage. • 2 Simpson, R. L. (2012). Technology enables value-based nursing care. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 36(1), 85–87. • Telehealth is a newer term in healthcare that is coming into its own rapidly. “A significant increase is expected in the use of information technology tools in nursing venues in the coming decades” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015, p. 317). There are many different ways that telehealth is being used, from simply a phone call to implanted devices, and many things in between. Patients are being sent home with devices that monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and weight that require the patient to stand on a scale, hold a device, or check their blood pressure. All of these can be manipulated by human error. Another device is an implantable cardioMEMS that measure the pressure in the patient’s pulmonary artery, and all the patient has to do is lay down on a mat to transmit the information. Many of the patients that are now using the telehealth equipment are the elderly. “Younger, more highly educated and affluent seniors use technology more readily and across broader platforms than the older old, who as a group tend to be less affluent, less educated, and often have a significantly greater burden of chronic illness and disability” (Greenwald, Stern, Clark, & Sharma, 2018, p. 2). Technology has advanced so much that many elderly know how to use a smartphone efficiently and can use an app to upload information for the physician to see. Telehealth and the advances being made should help our patients improve their quality of life and also be more engaged in their healthcare. I work on a cardiac med-surg unit that has a strong focus on congestive heart failure (CHF). We, along with most other institutions, struggle with readmissions. We strive for 60 minutes of education per visit, have instituted a biweekly heart failure class. We are now entering a phase where we are utilizing telehealth. Technology Enables Value-based Nursing Care Essay.“Health professionals, particularly nurses, can move mHealth into mainstream healthcare by understanding its potential to change the landscape of health intervention delivery” (Meetoo, Tylance, & Abuhaimid, 2018, p. 1176). A new initiative that we recently started is to screen our patients that are going home to see if they can participate in a telehealth program. The program sets them up with a tablet, a scale, and a blood pressure cuff. A nurse comes to their room before discharge to teach them how and when to use the equipment. The patient is to weigh themselves and check their blood pressure every day, and the results are automatically uploaded by Bluetooth to their account. A nurse at their primary care physician’s office monitors the data and has a conversation with the physician if the patient’s weight begins to rise to help prevent the patient from coming back to the hospital for a CHF exacerbation. The nurse and the patient are in contact also so that the patient can communicate problems they are having, or how they are feeling. We just started it about a month ago, so I don’t have any data on how well it is working. Some of the barriers we are currently facing are our patient population; many of them do not go home after discharge. They go to rehabs, SNF, or even assisted living. Our patients are on average about 80 years old, with a significant portion above 85. The program we are instituting requires the patient to be at home. Another obstacle is that currently only two primary care physicians offices are participating in the program. We hope that more offices will begin participating. Greenwald, P., Stern, M. E., Clark, S., & Sharma, R. (2018). Older adults and technology: In telehealth, they may not be who you think they are. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 11(2), 1-4. https://DOI.org/10.1186/s12245-017-0162-7 McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (Third ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Barlett Learning. Technology Enables Value-based Nursing Care Essay.

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Telehealth

Telehealth is a tool that has been increasingly incorporated into medical practice. In fact, it represents an opportunity for increased care coverage through introducing communication opportunities that eliminate distance as a barrier. Rather than requiring patients to spend time in visiting medical facilities or have medical personnel visit them at home, Telehealth eliminates the barriers brought about by distance so that patients are able to get medical advice promptly (Harris, 2015). In fact, it offers unique advantages reducing the cost of health care, improving the revenues and efficiency of medical practice, improving access to health care, and increasing positive feedback from happier and satisfied patients. In addition, it improves the quality of care and patient engagement. Overall, the technology is concerned with offering convenience through allowing patients to have easy access to medical personnel (who include referral and specialist medical personnel) in personal interactions (Gellis et al., 2012; Simpson, 2012).

On the other hand, Telehealth has been linked to some disadvantages that hinder its application. Firstly, it requires technical equipment and training that is linked with restructuring facility budgets and staff responsibilities. Secondly, it reduces care continuity when telemedicine links to different health care providers as patients are shuffled. Thirdly, it reduces in-person consultations that is detrimental when complex procedures that cannot be performed digitally are required. Finally, it complicates reimbursement rules and privacy policies. This discussion makes it clear that although Telehealth is useful in addressing health care needs when distance becomes a concern, there is a need to address the disadvantages to maximize the benefits of the technology (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). This is true for recuperating geriatric patients who would find it difficult to commute between their home and medical facility, particular when they would require specialized transport systems to get to the facility (Gellis et al., 2012). In this respect, Telehealth offers a good opportunity for delivering health care to geriatric populations. Technology Enables Value-based Nursing Care Essay.

References

Gellis, Z., Kenaley, B., McGinty, J., Bardelli, E., Davitt, J. & Have, T. (2012). Outcomes of a Telehealth Intervention for Homebound Older Adults With Heart or Chronic Respiratory Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial. The Gerontologist, 52(4), 541-552.

Harris, Marilyn. Handbook of home health care administration (6^th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2015. Print.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4^th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Simpson, R. L. (2012). Technology enables value-based nursing care. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 36(1), 85–87. Technology Enables Value-based Nursing Care Essay.