NUR1201: Discussion on Telehealth, PCEHR, and Patient-Centered Care

This discussion post, completed for NUR1201, focuses on telehealth and personal controlled electronic health records (PCEHR). It addresses the role of telehealth in providing access to healthcare, particularly for those in rural and remote areas, and explores the eligibility criteria, facilitators, and barriers associated with its use. The post also examines the role of telehealth and e-health records in patient-centered care, including the Australian governance and legislation related to e-health record use. The assignment analyzes the benefits of PCEHR, such as improved information sharing and patient self-management, while also acknowledging potential barriers like individual characteristics, demographic factors, and technological capabilities. The post includes a comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from a study on telemedicine, emphasizing the importance of a number scale for interpreting findings and engaging with patients. The post also references relevant literature to support its claims. The assignment fulfills the requirements of a peer discussion activity within the context of the NUR1201 course, focusing on the patient experience and partnering in care.

Personal Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR)
Personal controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) is an online summary of health
information of an individual. According to Pearce and Bainbridge (2014), PCEHR has been
designed to enable health information to be shared between a patient and any other healthcare
practitioner involved in the care and who is allowed by the patient. The purpose of PCEHR is to
provide an easily accessible format of a secure electronic summary of health information of an
individual. PCEHR upholds the nursing philosophy of person-centered care by collaboratively
working with the patients, respecting their rights, dignity, autonomy and individuality while
aiming at strong therapeutic relationships. The barriers of PCEHR include:
 Individual characteristics like age, sex, race and ethnicity.
 Demographic factors such as income and socioeconomic status, level of
education, internet and computer access.
 Lack of capabilities such as text, health and technical literacy and skills and
numeracy.
 Health barriers like disabilities and chronic diseases.
Hanna, Gill, Newstead, Hawkins, and Osborne (2017) argue that PCEHR improves
quality healthcare. It achieves this by enabling better information sharing. PCEHR also enhances
patient capacity for self management. This is because it provides rapid access to health
information.
Since it is centralized and contains a comprehensive repository, it enables healthcare
providers to understand a patient’s medical history (Hanna et al., 2017). It also reduces errors in
patient recalls. However, there needs to be widespread awareness and on its use. Also integration
of s user friendly interface will maximize its effectiveness.
Activity 2
Telemedicine is a practice of caring for patients remotely using technology without the patient
and healthcare provider being physically present. Through telemedicine, healthcare providers can
evaluate, diagnose and treat a patient. It is very beneficial because it is less costly to the patient,
time saving, and also increases patient engagement. Knowing the context of this study helps in
the interpretation and application of the findings. The quantitative results on page 138 reveal
high agreement and little disagreement (Roberts, Spain, Hicks, London, & Tay, 2015). The
qualitative results also show high agreement and little disagreement.
The number scale depicts more efficiency. This is because it highlights the response to every
specific question asked. It also provides a visual scale to ensure that all the responses can be
weighed. Patient comments do not clearly state issues of concern.

When partnering with patients in a similar context, I would use number scale. This is because it
presents numbers in a meaningful way. The numbers can be used for the interpretation of the
findings. Number scale is also used to understand large numbers.
Activity 3
PCEHR ensures a secure sharing of health information between patients, and healthcare
providers while enabling the patients to be in control. It is true that PCEHR reduces
communication errors and improves accuracy; however, there are privacy and confidentiality
concerns. While attitudinal factors are also a barrier, the usability and cost of PCEHR can also be
a barrier (Showell, 2017). It is also important to note that the patient-centered care upholds all
its values in the PCEHR.
Telemedicine is more convenient and accessible by the users. It also extends specialist and
access by the referred physician. It also enhances the traditional face-to-face- medicine, improves
provider satisfaction and improves quality of care delivery. While both the qualitative and
quantitative results gave the same response in different ways, the quantitative results is more
accurate because it provides number scale which can be easily interpreted.
References
Hanna, L., Gill, S. D., Newstead, L., Hawkins, M., & Osborne, R. H. (2017). Patient perspectives
on a personally controlled electronic health record used in regional Australia: ‘I can be
like my own doctor’. Health Information Management Journal, 46(1), 42-48.
Pearce, C., & Bainbridge, M. (2014). A personally controlled electronic health record for
Australia. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, 21(4),
707–713. doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2013-002068
Roberts, S., Spain, B., Hicks, C., London, J., & Tay, S. (2015). Telemedicine in the N orthern T
erritory: An assessment of patient perceptions in the preoperative anaesthetic
clinic. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 23(3), 136-141.
Showell, C. (2017). Barriers to the use of personal health records by patients: a structured
review. PeerJ, 5, e3268. Retrieved from https://peerj.com/articles/3268.pdf