Telemedicine in Nursing: Advantages, Disadvantages and Implementation

Running Head: NURSING
Telemedicine
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

NURSING1
Answer 1
Telehealth, a form of health information technology, aims to provide efficient health
care in less time with minimal efforts (Burch, Gray & Sharp, 2017). In this case study, a
patient suffering from Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and Chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD) arrived at a telehealth center for care. Due to faulty internet connection the
patient did not receive effective care and the following day she was being admitted to
emergency department. Thus efficient care to the patient by telehealth technology was not
achieved.
In this case study, the patient missed previous two appointments as she could not
drive and had to rely on her daughter for transportation. Moreover, she was unable to move
out of her bed and perform her own task due to fatigue. The teleheath nurse was connected to
doctor while he or she was checking the patient. The patient was diagnosed with increased in
respiratory rate and strenuous breath. With the help of camera the patients’ skin was assessed.
Other parameters like height and weight was also recorded. The patient was not given any
medication and she was sent home. For this reason, in the following day she was admitted to
emergency department for a week. This gap in telehealth care was due to faulty internet
connection, where the video set up was disrupted. The audio system also went out of service.
For these reasons the telehealth or Health information technology did not work with
maximum efficiency.
Answer 2
Gathering medical history is the first step for process flow in patient’s treatment.
Sometimes patient feels uncomfortable to share their medical issues in front of doctors.
Telehealth can solve the issue as information or images are kept confidential. Monitoring of
the patient and diagnosis of the symptoms can be made faster in critical cases by consultation
among healthcare professionals. This technology also aids in gathering a second opinion

NURSING2
during emergency health issues. Verification of prescription or any change in medication can
be implemented in less time especially for home bound patients or older patients. The life of
a patient can be saved during an emergency situation. Telehealth aims to create a bridge
between the patient at remote places and health care center. This also reduces the cost of
healthcare (Goodridge & Marciniuk, 2016).
Although telehealth is in rise in the recent times, it has certain disadvantages (Bull et
al., 2016). There is a high risk of error in clinical service due to virtual communication,
especially if the service is given by an inexperienced professional. Faulty electronic devices
can leak confidential medical information which might decrease the trust of patient towards
telehealth facilities. Service provided by this technology can be delayed during server
problem or low speed internet connections. Immediate treatment like medication cannot be
provided by this technology. Images (Magnetic Resonance imaging) or reports (X- rays,
Electrocardiogram etc.) shared in lower qualities can lead to wrong clinical treatment. Legal
regulations are mandatory in this system to avert unauthorized and illegal service providers.
Training of nurse and doctors, data management apparatus and telecommunication system
increase the overall cost of this health sector (Bull et al., 2016).
Cottrell et al., (2017) performed a survey on telehealth service in patients having
chronic musculoskeletal conditions. The survey was done on patients receiving care with
Neurosurgical, Physiotherapy and multidisciplinary services. Evaluation of the survey was
done on areas including demographics, barriers to the service and satisfaction of the patient to
the service provided by telehealth technology. At the end of the survey 85 patients (71%)
could complete the survey. From this service majority of the patient showed satisfaction.
Although, few patients informed ceasing of the treatment due to poor service. 53%, 57% and
78% of the respondents were willing to take up telehealth due to low cost in treatment, lesser
time in treatment and reduced work absenteeism respectively. Most importantly, 43% of the