Chapter 11. Telenursing

Telemedicine can be traced to the late 1950s. Telehealth is defined as the use of telecommunication technologies to provide healthcare services to clients and provide access to health related information for both the clients and healthcare providers. An example of this is a simple telephone communications like dialing 911 for health or emergency assistance. Telephony has extended its applications to healthcare community with the introduction of technologies like videoconferencing, chat, email, fax and cellphones. Telenursing allows health care nurses to use remotely connected medical devices in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of the patient. An example is a nurse videoconferencing a patient at home or in a hospital or clinic. Computerized Home Healthcare System links the patient, usually with chronic disease or disabilities, to the healthcare provider based in a hospital or clinic. Example, non invasive sensors applied directly to the body to monitor vital signs, any detection is automatically redirected to the remote control center. Devices like these includes, ECG leads, scanners, cardiophones and etc.

Telehealth is met with problems like poor reimbursements because services are limited to third party payers both private and government, Legal issues on authority to control and regulate the telehealth practices when care provider and the client are in two separate states with dissimilar health policies. More problems are about the safety standards, there must be a need to certify care providers who engage in telehealth or telenursing having to use new medium for the delivery of care, security, telehealth sessions remain as a confidential interaction between a provider and a patient and budget constraints, the cost of infrastructure and its installation and connection, plus the cost of transmission, training and maintenance must be offset by the benefits gained in telehealth.