NR 512 Week 5 Assignment: HealthIT Topic of Week Assignment: Telehealth or Telemedicine

Nursing Informatics Telehealth Effect on Healthcare The innovation of computer technologies has push ed healthcare to new limits for both the good and the bad. Telehealth is the use of telecommunications such as computer, television monitors and mobile device technologies to transmit electronic information (Markwick, McConnochie & Wood, 2015). Telehealth provides for and expanded care for patients and a new avenue of practice for nursing. Healthcare, as a consumer based product, can use telehealth as the solution for keeping up with changing populations needs and growing use of technology. This paper will focus on the healthIT topic of telehealth, the impact on nurse practice, the informatics skills and knowledge, and end with a conclusion and what this nurse learned about telehealth. HealthIT Topic The topic of telehealth was selected due to the impact on future practice. Telehealth has the ability to revolutionize the way healthcare is delivered and provides for advancing technology. For years nursing has used forms of primitive telehealth, such as telephones and letters to communicate and corridinate care and with the advent of the computer and video there is a unparrelled ability to provide nursing care to all in need (Rutledge et al., 2017). According to Sweeney there has been an increase from 34% to 50% of insurance executives over 4 years that are stating that they will be implementing and growing current telehealth programs within their companies (2017). Growth that big in telemedicine is a hot issue that will affect nursing practice in many ways. Telehealth can provide lower cost healthcare to patients as well as give patients easier access to providers (Rutledge et al., 2017). According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the use of telehealth will be a cost-effective alternative to the traditional face-to-face patient consultation and can be used in areas where there is a lack of providers, such as in rural areas, or if travel is burdensome for the patient (M, n.d.). The terms telemedicine and telehealth have been used interchangeably. However, telemedicine is the part of telehealth that denotes the delivery of care by a provider and telehealth is the technology used in care delivery, health information, remote health and education (Rutledge et al., 2017). Telehealth allows for those of lower socioeconomic regions and debilitating health conditions to be seen at lower cost in a place they feel comfortable (Markwick, McConnochie & Wood, 2015). The use of nurses in telehealth will broaden current nursing services through professional knowledge, interpersonal skills, technical skills and use of electronic health records. Practice Impact Telehealth allows for nurses to use information technology skills to provide communication via technology in its various forms while still creating relationships, respectin