Application of Technology in Nursing and Patient Education
Details: select one technology application and describe its use within nursing and patient
education. Include situations in which the technology application would provide
advantages and disadvantages.
Rubric–Clearly and comprehensively describes selected technology’s effects on nursing
and patient education. Clearly and comprehensively addresses the significance of selected
technology. Advantages and disadvantages are both well supported with scholarly,
evidence-based literature. Clearly discusses situations in which it would be
disadvantageous to use the selected technology. Clearly relates selected technology to
appropriate professional standards and competencies.
In addition, relate the use of the selected technology application to the appropriate
professional standards.
This assignment may be completed in the following formats:
APA-formatted paper (1,000-1,250 words)
Solid academic writing is expected for all presentation formats, and in-text citations and
references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines
Telenursing
Telenursing refers to the “use of ICT for delivering healthcare services at distance by
nurses” (Yogesan, Brett and Gibbons, 2010, p.276). This technology can be employed in
healthcare settings or non-institutional settings. Some of the applications that are used in
Telenursing include videoconferencing, where a patient can contact the nurse and request for a
video conference. This technological application is helpful to people who suffer from chronic
conditions (Yogesan, Brett and Gibbons, 2010). Telenursing is also instrumental in helping
families and patients to be proactive in providing care (Kumar and Snooks, 2011), for example
self-management of chronic conditions. This essay will evaluate the role of telenursing in the
healthcare system. By doing so, the paper will explore some of the advantages as well as the
disadvantages of telenursing in the healthcare delivery system
Telehealth provides numerous benefits for patients as well as the health professionals.
First, telenursing makes sure that specialist care is available patients (Yogesan, Brett and
Gibbons, 2010). Telenursing makes it possible for patients to access care in an affordable and
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easy way. Telenursing reduces travel time, expenses and inconveniences (Kumar and Snooks,
2011). On the other hand, telehealth is advantageous to the health professionals as well. It helps
the practitioners to communicate and obtain specialist advice and update their knowledge as well
as enhance their skills (Yogesan, Brett, and Gibbons, 2010). In addition, it can greatly assist
practitioners to continue their education even when they are operating in a remote place
(Fairchild, Elfrink, and Deickman, n.d). Nurses and other health professional find it possible to
update their skills and knowledge without interrupting their practice. Therefore, healthcare
professionals can now appreciate telenursing as an essential component in their practice.
Telenursing and telehealth also play an important role in the improvement of medication
management and compliance. Yogesan, Brett, and Gibbons (2010) write, “medication-related
complications are a contributing factor in accidents and illnesses that lead to hospitalization” (p.
279). Patients who have more than nine medications have over 20% incidences of medication
errors. Such errors often lead to adverse outcomes on the part of the patients. Telenursing in
management managements has now made it possible for nurses to minimise such instances. With
medication reminders, interactive voice response, and telemonitoring systems, it is now possible
to improve medication management and help nurses to improve the overall quality of care for all
patients (Fairchild, Elfrink, and Deickman, n.d.).
Telenursing and telehealth are critical in assisting patients to take care of their health in
the comfort of their homes (Yogesan, Brett and Gibbons, 2010). The elderly have a myriad of
health challenges such as diabetes and coronary heart diseases. After such patients are discharged
from the health facilities, they require constant attention in order to monitor their conditions.
Traditionally, such care was met by making home visits. However, with telenursing, it is now
possible to interact with the client and instruct them while at their home. This approach improves
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self-care, minimises chances of re-admission besides allowing people to stay at home. Further,
telehealth can lead to significant savings in terms of costs, as patients do not need to travel to
healthcare centres.
Telenursing provides numerous benefits to the growth of the nursing profession as well
as in meeting the set standards (Fairchild, Elfrink, and Deickman, n.d.). This is because
telenursing makes it possible to understand the needs of the clients even when they are far. In
addition, with telenursing, monitoring and surveillance of patients is enhanced. The provision of
services is made easy, thus improving outcomes. All these aspects are important in ensuring the
safety of patients. Therefore, by using technology, is now possible to monitor clients and ensure
they get attention as soon as possible.
Yogesan, Brett, and Gibbons (2010) argues that there is a deficiency in the relevant
training and education in telehealth. The authors are categorical that healthcare professionals
have some knowledge in the use of computers. However, the use of telehealth and telenursing
requires specialized training. Therefore, unless students are provided with the necessary training
and education, it becomes problematic for them to embrace the full implementation of the new
technology. In most cases, this training is lacking, which poses a significant challenge
(International Hospital, 2014).
Although telenursing provides numerous benefits in terms of cost savings, improvements
in diagnosis and intervention, ethical issues continue to linger in the minds of nurses. Privacy,
security, confidentiality, and autonomy are some of the ethical dilemmas that a nurse faces while
using telenursing (International Hospital, 2014). While using telenursing, it is possible that the
caller might not be the actual patient seeking care, but it could be someone else. For example, a
parent could be making a call on behalf of his or her child. It could also be a husband calling on
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behalf of his wife. In the latter case, the patient’s autonomy and the relative’s beneficence can
lead to a conflict (International Hospital, 2014). If a nurse is not able to talk with the patient, then
it could be a difficult situation as they could be walking a tight line between helping and
respecting the rights of the patient.
Another challenge that telenurses face is an integrity and documentation dilemma. When
talking with someone over the phone, the nurse cannot ‘read’ the mood of the patient. Therefore,
decisions are only based on the verbal information that the caller is willing to reveal. Further, a
person might not reveal his or her real identity. Therefore, telenurses are not able to decipher the
caller’s integrity in this case. In addition, documentation places a huge challenge for telenurses.
A nurse should be careful while recording information provided by the clear. If the caller is
seeking help relating to psychiatric or venereology, the telenurses might only indicate ‘referral’
in the record sheet. This is correct, but it might not be informative information (International
Hospital, 2014).
In conclusion, telenursing is an important concept in the provision of healthcare.
Technological advancements have provided a platform where healthcare providers can now
interact with consumers in spite of the distance. The quality of care is thus improved as various
interventions can be undertaken at low cost and with ease. Patients can get care in the comfort of
their homes. On the other hand, healthcare providers can link up with other professional, learn
and share through videoconferencing and therefore continue to enhance their competencies
despite distance challenges. Despite of the benefits associated with this new technological
application in the nursing profession, barriers are also inherent. Privacy, security, confidentiality,
and autonomy are some of the ethical challenges that confront nurses in telenursing environment.
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However, it is noteworthy that the benefits provided by telenursing far outweigh the perceived
negativities.
References
Fairchild, S. L., Elfrink, V. and Deickman, A. (n.d.). Patient Safety, Telenursing, and Telehealth