Telehealth Technology Capella University Alexander Ruche Feb ✓ Solved

Telehealth Technology Capella University Alexander Ruche Feb

Health organizations require the use of technology whether in health machines, administration of medications, and developing health procedures to solve any health-related problems. Innovation in medical technology has become very crucial around the world in maintaining health services. Technology and healthcare have to work hand-in-hand for the emergence of healthcare requirements to be relevant. Nurses and health workers may be afraid of robots taking their jobs, but the future facts about health will be anonymously improved. It is the only chance of winning against cancer, AIDS, and any other resulting medical conditions.

For the case of the COVID 19 pandemic, communications, getting health facilities prepared, and tracking affected people has been facilitated by technology. It helps with facilitating a diagnosis, quarantine tracking, and innovation in disinfecting. Kinsa, the American health company, developed smart thermometers that aggregate people’s temperature. This was the fastest rollout within the shortest period of time. Health assessment techniques are also crucial, and in this context, we are going to look at the relevance and assessment needs, new telehealth technology addressing nursing care issues affecting patients, consideration, and the requirement for telehealth technology regulation. Also, its importance in adhering to patient protection on privacy and confidentiality, and lastly impacts of telehealth technology on users and stakeholders.

Relevance and Assessment Needs

This is an evaluation used to review health organization requirements taking into account social and technological issues. Health technology assessments are diversely increasing providing significant information to decision-makers about possible impacts in the new technology. It has approaches that deal with the importance and technology risks. Strategic opportunities being the objectives in planning, policies examine both short and long-term consequences when technology is observed.

Typically, the technology includes an analysis of systems and economy using various dimensions. The needs assessment is helpful when it comes to determining the gaps hindering the achievements of an organizational goal. Health needs are not only capturing patient experiences; it requires an organized way of obtaining the unmet healthcare expectations of the population, and trying to make correct changes. The assessment has a method of defining a required scope and possible impact of the project when trying to address attempted goals. When going into decision-making, the process is improved by the provision of quality information about the health care interventions.

The policymakers have to include the pressing needs of a population to make it safer and effective as this is the most critical part. Needs assessment enables the community with a tremendous opportunity that ensures there is involvement and engagement together with outstanding stakeholders so that they get enough support. Considering long-term projects that have impacts on people's lives, ownership and maintenance should be given to them. The needs assessment is a way of ensuring that the design and development of a project is adopted. It helps in identifying existing gaps and ensuring that other organizations are considering the same project.

By doing this, it minimizes the waste of resources and energy. Once the needs have been identified, it becomes easier to know the amount needed for investment and how to get them. The most important thing is defining areas that should be monitored for the project to propel successfully. It should be outlining details about the reasons for coming up with the project and group which it is meant to target.

New Telehealth Technology Addressing Nursing Care Issues

Telehealth is one of the developed telecommunication technologies used in connecting patients and health care services from remote areas. The process is done by monitoring patients in remote areas by videoconferencing, conducting electronic consults, and passing information. It ensures patients receive enough care whenever it is needed at any place. It saves patients and doctors time because their conditions are monitored from home. Remote access enables care mitigation to patients with chronic health issues such as blood pressure.

This has been very important through this pandemic assuring that COVID 19 exposure is kept to a minimum, thus helping prevent more spread and infection. This also helps keep close follow-up to patients after treatment in hospital, especially adults with mobility limitations. This technology also provides education concerning health matters through health specialists. It has urgent risk care management in case of a medical crisis like the COVID 19 crisis. Communication and monitoring of health care has been improved by this technology. It saves on potential infection in the case of contagious viruses.

The mitigation given by the World Health Organization of social distancing for COVID 19 is another improvement through the telehealth system.

Consideration and Requirements for Telehealth Technology Regulation

Before implementing telehealth in health care, services that will be rendered should consider complying with the states' rules and available regulations. Practitioners responsible for this technology are supposed to secure licenses from the area of the patient and the location where he/she comes from. It can become a burden to access the service if the practitioners are not able to obtain a permit. Problems may arise such as misinterpretation of a statute, hence creating barriers to the use of telehealth.

Practitioners are advised to check the regulations from their state and that of the clients if it is merging with the use of telehealth. This technology can also be a cause for concern when it comes to security and safety issues. This technology can cause trust issues for patients and clinicians, due to the fact that anyone might be able to hack the feed and steal personal information. There is a need for federal agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to coordinate the provision of standards for security and privacy. The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) model policy recommends the same standards of care should be applied in in-person and remote consultations.

However, the existing regulations do not seem to provide the risk protection that is required. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides regulations necessary to safeguard privacy for health information. HIPAA does this by ensuring data is encrypted from unauthorized access. But this does not cover the patient, so the Food and Drug Administration tries to ensure safety to the patient.

Addresses for Patient Protection on Privacy and Confidentiality

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has come up with regulations protecting personal health information. It is made to address issues and ensure that security and privacy are withheld to applicable parties. They impose penalties on anyone who tries to breach the legal barriers. Authorization and authentication of users are some of the practices needed by HIPAA to ensure appropriate data safeguarding. The remote telehealth technology is supposed to highlight threats that arise whenever a health provider communicates with the patient.

Examples of risks include securing confidentiality when assembling sensitive information and when transferring to the system. The system should be able to detect unauthorized access to the data stored in the devices that are integrated within the system. The system should provide authentication to prevent unauthorized devices that have no access to the network. The increasing availability of data is made to improve the performance level and prevent any information leak which would be a disaster. Data can't be available or interfered with if the server device has been properly secured. Hacking is a serious threat, and if the devices that are used in monitoring the patient have not been protected, they will be hacked. To reduce such hacking cases, protection has to be done.

Impacts of Telehealth Technology on Users and Stakeholders

Involving stakeholders in this process of acquiring telehealth technology is bidirectional. It involves direct or indirect communication between the people who will be affected. During the acquisition of such technology, it is important to consider the influence level resulting from every stakeholder because their interest plays a major role in the success of the technology. Examples of internal stakeholders are nurse practitioners, patients, service workers, directors, assistant physicians, administration, funders, and nurse managers. These stakeholders will be affected by the acquisition of the technology in one way or another. The technology will enable quality care administration by nurses to the patients.

Workloads will be reduced as the readmission gets moderated and reduced. This remote patient monitoring technology becomes more convenient as the patient's report and progress are monitored closely. Dealing with clients physically is tedious work; this gives the Administration and service workers workloads. By using the technology, it reduces their workload. Scheduling of work by nurse managers gives a good set of responsibilities on how to manage and monitor the technology. This ensures that operations are smoothly planned and run. Patients get a better chance to access healthcare services efficiently through the technology without necessarily being present at the healthcare centers.

The services are quality-assured and accorded with peace of mind. There is supported feedback and patient education when the practitioner and patient are interacting. Competitors, the community, media, quality assessors, and the population are the external stakeholders impacted by technology. Monitoring of services from remote areas affects the population because the costs are reduced. Quality teams will be able to make sure that everything is working positively for the institutions. Their work is made difficult as some resources will be remotely distributed. The media has to make a report on the existence of the new technological services in healthcare.

This might be taken lightly by the public, but publication of this information will prove to be essential for patient buy-in. The government will also be impacted by how they impose regulations on telehealth services. The government has to come up with rules and regulations, including the licensure, to enhance the use of telehealth technology.

Conclusion

In conclusion, considering the positive effects of telehealth technology, it is important to try and adopt the system. However, legislation may have to control the process; following the right licensure will ensure that the practitioners work hand in hand with the regulatory body. Patient’s health conditions will be monitored closely while the clinicians keep the patients' personal health records out of hackers’ hands. This technology can and will enhance life expectancy and quality as it will be way easier to communicate with patients and assist them to become medically adherent to their appointments and medications.

References

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