Summary
Advancements in technology have improved performance in nursing practice by facilitating direct and indirect patients care. Telehealth technology uses devices such as computers and smartphones to manage and monitor health conditions remotely. The communication between doctors and patients is facilitated through medical-based applications or social media channels such as WhatsApp, where health practitioners issue instructions and receive feedback from patients. As a professional nurse, I have effectively attended to multiple patients physically and remotely, resulting in improved performance. My rationale for choosing Telehealth technology as my topic is because I am familiar with it, and I have witnessed its reliability and effectiveness of the technology. The topic interests me because I interact with home-based clients remotely through video calls and audio every day. My research process involved written and verbal questionnaires to both health practitioners and patients for feedback concerning the effectiveness of Telehealth technology. I used Google Scholar databases to obtain scholarly information from other researchers about modernized nursing technologies. Telemedicine, hospital technologies, Telehealth, remote medical services, Nurses, health practitioners, patient monitoring, and mobile health were my search terms.
Annotated Bibliography
Bonnevie, T., Smondack, P., Elkins, M., Gouel, B., Medrinal, C., Combret, Y., & Gravier, F. E. (2020). Advanced telehealth technology improves home-based exercise therapy for people with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review. Journal of Physiotherapy. Web.
The above-listed source is a journal article assessing the effectiveness of exercise therapy (ET) delivered through advanced telehealth technology (ATT) to victims of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The main objective is to compare ATT-aided therapy with no therapy, inpatient or outpatient therapy, and home-based ET without ATT. Elsevier Publishers published the article in ScienceDirect’s Journal of Physiotherapy. As of 2021, telehealth technologies improve exercise capacity, quality of life, functional dyspnoea, and cost reduction.
The ability to exercise more increases patients’ quality of life as they overcome health challenges caused by the disease. The cost of implementing ATT nursing approaches contributes to saving money that can be used for other needs. Physical and home-based therapies result in added expenditures such as bus fares and consultancy fees that can be avoided through remote monitoring telehealth devices. The application of ATT in therapies reduces the hustle of movements for either patients or doctors, thus, promoting time convenience. Through ATT technologies, exercise therapies have become accessible to many people from all corners of the world. Patients living with COPD can improve their health conditions by exercising more since coaching is always available and at any time. The reason for choosing this source is because it provided important information relating to the effectiveness of telehealth technologies in improving the health of COPD victims. This document is of great significance to the world for providing a solution to the high number of COPD patients worldwide.
Ding, X., Clifton, D., Ji, N., Lovell, N. H., Bonato, P., Chen, W., Yu, X., Xue, Z., Xiang, T., Long, X., Xu, K., Jiang, X., Wang, Q., Yin, B., Feng, G. & Zhang, Y. T. (2020). Wearable sensing and telehealth technology with potential applications in the coronavirus pandemic. IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, VOL. 14, pp. 48-70. Web.
The above reference is a journal article focused on identifying potential telehealth technology to monitor and provide health-related services during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. After the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2019, governments imposed measures to mitigate the spread of the virus by imposing measures such as curfews, lockdowns, and travel bans. The provision of goods and services became a difficult task to execute due to strict and harsh COVID-19 measures. Essential services providers were allowed to move to any location, using official authorization such as a work permit. The provision of medical services became more complicated due to overcrowding restrictions and social distancing. The authors of this article realized the need to explore methods through which patients could receive medical attention while staying indoors. IEEE publishers published the document in the year 2020 in the journal of IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering.
The authors aimed to evaluate wearable devices for monitoring populations at risk, systems for detecting and monitoring people with Corona symptoms, and technologies to monitor and diagnose diseases such as COVID-19. According to this source, telehealth technologies have successfully been implemented, proving helpful to health practitioners, inpatient treatment, controlling the spread of COVID-19, diagnosing patients, and monitoring the infected people. The technologies do not jeopardize the safety of patients since they are aimed at helping them. In terms of healthcare quality, telehealth technology has enhanced convenience in communication, administering medical procedures, advanced diagnosis, and monitoring health conditions. The technology has significantly improved the nursing practice as there have been a reduced number of working shifts, controlled hospital congestions, fast and effective communication, and accurate diagnostic tests. My reason for choosing this publication is due to the realization that COVID-19 is nowhere near the end, and there is a need to incorporate technology for proper mitigation practices.
Markert, C., Sasangohar, F., Mortazavi, B. J., & Fields, S. (2021). The use of telehealth technology to support health coaching for older adults: A literature review. JMIR Human Factors, 8(1), e23796. Web.
This source investigates health coaching interventions that use telehealth technologies and their effectiveness in delivering healthcare services to adults 65 years and above. The article was published in January 2021 by JMIR Publications. It is open access, a peer-reviewed document that can be used for scholarly purposes. There have been previous versions of the work, which were first published on August 23, 2020. The four authors found that telehealth technologies provided effective outcomes in hospital admissions and re-admissions, mortality department, body hemoglobin management, monitoring weight, blood pressure assessment, dealing with fatigue, and improving the quality of life.
Through technology, the work of intermediary healthcare practitioners has been made easy since the number of emergency cases and critical chronic diseases has reduced due to the consistency of healthcare provision through technology-assisted interventions. The life expectancy levels have leveled up due to professional monitoring of older adults’ health conditions. Technology facilitates the provision of quality services since accuracy and speed while performing nursing activities have significantly improved. This publication relates to my daily experiences while exercising my skills in offering health care to older adults. I receive multiple alerts about changing health conditions of home-based patients through the diagnosis and health sensors wrapped around patients’ ankles. The reason for picking this source is because it connects to the previous source on COVID-19. The healthcare industry needs to incorporate technology in nursing practices, such as remote monitoring of older adults most susceptible to Coronavirus.
Marzorati, C., Renzi, C., Russell-Edu, S. W., & Pravettoni, G. (2018). Telemedicine use among caregivers of cancer patients: Systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 20(6), e9812. Web.
This research is conducted to analyze the impacts of telemedicine tools on informal caregivers providing care to cancer patients. The researcher also aimed at examining the role of Telehealth, usability, and feasibility in providing care to patients. According to this source, research results suggest telehealth technology is still in the explanatory phase and needs more research to clarify caregivers’ needs. Multiple studies showed that there had been improvements in the quality of patients’ care resulting from effective interventions of caregivers.
Web-based platforms and mobile calls have been proved essential in consoling caregivers as they deal with different levels of cancer patients. The safety and well-being of patients improve when caregivers are in their top form and less stressed. Positivity among caregivers will have a positive impact on the health of patients and vice versa. Health practitioners do not have to pay for external interventions such as therapies to help them stay in control of their health through telehealth interventions. Healthcare practitioners should embrace technological interventions to monitor their health and facilitate adequate care provision. This article attracted me due to its uniqueness in regard to the users of telehealth technology. The article addresses the impacts of telehealth technology use among caregivers rather than patients, as discussed by other sources.
Recommendations
Both caregivers and patients require professional interventions to improve patients’ health and the well-being of the caregivers. All my sources relate to telehealth technologies that have been introduced to aid in the provision of healthcare services. Both patients and caregivers need technological interventions to improve the safety and quality of healthcare. Multiple studies have shown dominance in positive impacts of telehealth technology while negative impacts have not been exponentially explored. The selection of telehealth technology to use is determined by the services offered, such as a hospital or home-based care services. Telehealth technology has proved effective and practical, as evidenced by hospitals and care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing and travel limits have hindered physical services resulting in increased adoption of remote technologies to assess health conditions.
The seriousness of the Coronavirus has contributed to patient satisfaction and customer retention since healthcare needs must be addressed regardless of the mode of administration. Advancements in technology and civilization in the 21st century have resulted in telehealth technologies’ acceptance and approval in promoting healthcare. Organizational factors that include resources, business policies, and user applications are the most influential determinants of the required telehealth technology. Patients from communities with high illiteracy levels may have difficulties in operating technical devices, while limited resources may hinder the integration of quality telehealth technologies. Business policies may restrict certain privileges, thus resulting in customized installations.
References
Bonnevie, T., Smondack, P., Elkins, M., Gouel, B., Medrinal, C., Combret, Y., & Gravier, F. E. (2020). Advanced telehealth technology improves home-based exercise therapy for people with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review. Journal of Physiotherapy. Web.
Ding, X., Clifton, D., Ji, N., Lovell, N. H., Bonato, P., Chen, W., Yu, X., Xue, Z., Xiang, T., Long, X., Xu, K., Jiang, X., Wang, Q., Yin, B., Feng, G. & Zhang, Y. T. (2020). Wearable sensing and telehealth technology with potential applications in the coronavirus pandemic. IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, VOL. 14, pp. 48-70. Web.
Markert, C., Sasangohar, F., Mortazavi, B. J., & Fields, S. (2021). The use of telehealth technology to support health coaching for older adults: A literature review. JMIR Human Factors, 8(1), e23796. Web.
Marzorati, C., Renzi, C., Russell-Edu, S. W., & Pravettoni, G. (2018). Telemedicine use among caregivers of cancer patients: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(6), e9812. Web.