Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper

Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper

Discussion

Priorities and demands for providing high-quality healthcare are shifting as a result of healthcare reform in the current age. A growing need for quality patient care, along with the ever-increasing complexity and modernity of information and communication technologies (ICT), makes now an excellent moment to use novel care delivery techniques such as telehealth. Nursing care may now be provided to patients from a distance through the use of telehealth technologies such as videoconferencing, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), and text messaging. This paper seeks to delve into the FNP role in the delivery of primary care of patients via telehealth and the role of the Nurse Practitioner in the delivery of telehealth based on Population-focused Nurse Practitioner Competencies Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper.

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FNP Role in the Delivery of Primary Care of Patients via Telehealth

Nurses in primary care settings employ telehealth technology for communicating, coaching, counseling, giving education, and managing patient care administration. Through the use of remote patient monitoring, they are able to keep tabs on and treat the chronic ailments of patients suffering from disorders like diabetes and heart disease. Major healthcare institutions and facilities encourage nurses to use this kind of approach. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides support to nurses who are involved in diabetes, smoking cessation, and epileptic care in remote regions via telehealth (CDC, 2019). Every day, nurses request a large number of laboratory tests and screenings, including complete blood count (CBC) tests, blood glucose levels, and other health checks and testing. When patients get aberrant lab results, remote video enables FNPs to discuss the findings with them face-to-face without having to spend additional money on follow-up telephone calls Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper.

In recent years, telehealth has gained popularity as a means of providing more effective and patient-centered medical services to those who otherwise would not be able to get it. Patients nowadays may be hundreds of miles distant from the next major health clinic, critical access facility, or primary care physician, or they may be on a boat or in a vehicle for many hours or more. It is possible that any of these circumstances may lead to healthcare delivery service shortfalls and obstacles to accessing urgent or non-urgent healthcare, increasing the likelihood of sickness and death. Telehealth provides the chance to provide timely treatment that is effective, safe, and patient-centered. As a result, the vast majority of patients (87 percent) express overall satisfaction with telehealth services (Phenicie et al., 2021)Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper.

Professional issues play a crucial role when it comes to the delivery of telehealth. One of the major professional issues is the scope of practice. Because many nurses are just now beginning to use telehealth, it is critical to determine if their registration board or professional body has imposed restrictions on their scope of practice while employing telehealth. When considering the use of telehealth, privacy considerations emerge. Given that patient health information is now accessible across various devices, there is a greater possibility for information security issues that might reduce a person’s desire to utilize telehealth. Patient consent also serves as a professional issue in telehealth (Chaet et al., 2017). Before beginning a telehealth evaluation or treatment, it is necessary to gain informed permission from the patient, just as it is with any other kind of patient interaction Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper.

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Role of the Nurse Practitioner in delivery of telehealth based on Population-focused Nurse Practitioner Competencies

Primary and urgent care are often offered on an as-needed and episodic basis, and they are not necessarily delivered by the patient’s normal primary care provider. Primary care is frequently associated with a longer-term connection between the patient and the physician, during which the clinician is normally knowledgeable with the patient’s medical history and needs.

Mild to severe symptoms are common in both acute and chronic diseases, depending on the underlying cause. For instance, mild symptoms of allergy/asthma, chronic bronchitis, conjunctivitis, genitourinary disorders, low back pain, rashes, and upper respiratory infections may be efficiently addressed using telehealth (Gough et al., 2015). Telehealth may help in the treatment of chronic medical illnesses, such as mental illness and behavioral health, COPD, heart problems, hypertension, and diabetes (Gough et al., 2015). Moreover, telehealth is a viable option for providing preventive care and wellness services including vaccines, smoking cessation, nutrition counseling, and physical activity recommendations.

Prescribing is acceptable in the setting of real-time telehealth meetings when information can be given that is comparable to an in-person consultation (Gough et al., 2015). Additionally, prescribing based on telephone consultations with a patient when the FNP already has a connection with the patient and has access to the patient’s health record is often acceptable Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper.

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When opting to offer care to patients through telehealth, and in particular when contemplating prescription drugs, the responsible FNP should be cognizant of and adhere to all applicable regulatory requirements pertaining to the modality of technology employed (Gough et al., 2015). Despite some similarities between acute and chronic illnesses, there are some characteristics of primary/urgent care that are typical in telehealth contexts, such as timely service, close interaction, and the chance for follow-up.

 Conclusion

It is critical that nurses obtain telehealth training and education in order to have the necessary information, abilities, and dispositions before engaging in telehealth operations. A well-rounded foundation in broad nursing knowledge, theory, and practice abilities, along with clinical skills and basic technology skills, is required of nurses who provide care using telehealth systems Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Telehealth in rural communities: How CDC develops programs that deliver care in new ways. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/telehealth-in-rural-communities.htm

Chaet, D., Clearfield, R., Sabin, J. E., & Skimming, K. (2017). Ethical practice in Telehealth and telemedicine. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 32(10), 1136-1140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-017-4082-2

Gough, F., Budhrani, S., Cohn, E., Dappen, A., Leenknecht, C., Lewis, B., Mulligan, D. A., Randall, D., Rheuban, K., Roberts, L., Shanahan, T. J., Webster, K., Krupinski, E. A., Bashshur, R., & Bernard, J. (2015). ATA practice guidelines for live, on-demand primary and urgent care. Telemedicine and e-Health, 21(3), 233-241. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2015.0008

Phenicie, R., Acosta Wright, R., & Holzberg, J. (2021). Patient satisfaction with Telehealth during COVID-19: Experience in a rural County on the United States–Mexico border. Telemedicine and e-Health, 27(8), 859-865. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2021.0111 Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper

Ethical Practice In Telehealth And Telemedicine Discussion Paper