The last few decades have been marked by tremendous technological advancements providing for ever-increasing possibilities when it comes to transmitting, accessing and storing information. As many others professions, the nursing profession is embracing technology in an effort to make nursing care more efficient, cost effective and flexible. This paper will explore how telehealth is reaching a wide variety of clients as in hospice, virtual wards and remote cardiac monitoring, thereby offering a safe, affordable and convenient alternative to traditional care.
Telehealth and hospice Telehealth presents patients and their families with choices and flexibility when it comes to end-of-life care. Something as simple …show more content…
C. NurseLine, making nursing care more accessible to hospice patients. This arrangement saves patients and their families not only the inconvenience but also the physical and emotional toll of otherwise needless and expensive visits to the emergency room.
Recognizing the need for access to services after office hours, caregivers for home-based patients are provided with the telephone number to a tele-triage and health information call center, which is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. The caregiver can thus call anytime s/he has any concerns or questions about the care of the patient. The call center’s phone is answered a nurse who after making her assessment over the phone can refer the case to the appropriate specialty nurse on call (Roberts, Taylor, MacCormack, & Barwich, …show more content…
In addition, telehealth can, as demonstrated by the Croydon program, deliver preventive treatment for patients with a high risk of hospitalization, while models, like the nurse-managed remote telemetry model in Pennsylvania, can resolve facility capacity problems. Thus, telehealth nursing may promise a safe, convient and costeffective alternative to conventional care for paitients, health organizations and