Global healthcare systems seek to achieve the overriding objectives of promoting care quality, affordability, accessibility, and timeliness. These priority areas validate the need the incorporate advanced technologies when delivering patient-centered and coordinated care.Although technologies increase process efficiency, accuracy, timeliness, and convenience, the underlying social determinants of health, such as geographical factors, built environment, and poverty, result in health inequalities.As a result, telehealth technology emerges as a profound tool for intercepting sources of health disparities by bridging distance gaps and providing alternatives for care coordination, interdisciplinary team collaboration, and the overall healthcare organization.This annotated bibliography provides insights into the role of telemedicine technology in promoting patient satisfaction, interdisciplinary team collaboration, care coordination, and productivity. Also, it expounds on organizational factors that influence the incorporation of telehealth in daily care practices.
The rationale for Selecting Telehealth Technology
Often, health problems such as high disease prevalence, limited access to quality care, and delays in care provision are disproportionate to low-income populations and rural communities.As a result, it is essential to address these challenges by transforming care delivery mechanisms and adopting technologies that offer cheaper, faster, and more convenient alternatives.Eventually, telehealth technology improves care coordination and provision by enabling caregivers to conduct distant services such as medication administration, diagnostics, vital sign monitoring, and e-consultations (Kichloo et al., 2020).The current literature supports the plausibility of incorporating telemedicine technology in promoting care quality, affordability, timeliness, and convenience. For instance, I selected four scholarly articles from reputable databases such as Elsevier, SAGE, and BMJ to develop an annotated bibliography regarding telehealth technology.Further, I used keywords such as telehealth benefits, telehealth technology, care coordination, and telehealth barriers to select credible sources. Finally, I applied the CRAAP (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose) test to assess the sources’ credibility in providing insights into the importance of telemedicine.
Annotated Bibliography
Kichloo, A., Albosta, M., Dettloff, K., Wani, F., El-Amir, Z., Singh, J., Aljadah, M., Chakinala, R. C., Kanugula, A. K., Solanki, S., & Chugh, S. (2020). Telemedicine, the current COVID-19 pandemic, and the future: A narrative review and perspectives moving forward in the USA. Family Medicine and Community Health, 8(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2020-000530In this scholarly article, Kichloo et al. (2020) conducted a narrative review to examine the current state of telemedicine utilization amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on care accessibility. The researchers define telehealth as “a service that seeks to improve a patient’s health by permitting two-way, real-time interactive communication between the patient and the physician at a distant site” (p. 1).In this sense, telehealth utilizes telecommunication and information technology (IT) to bolster access to health assessment, diagnosis, interventions, consultation, supervision, and information across distances. Kichloo et al. (2020) reviewed a 2019 report by the Pew Research Center, which indicates that 90% of Americans can access the Internet while 81% of Americans use smartphones. The recent increase in mobile technologies and usage facilitates telehealth effectiveness.The researchers conclude that telehealth allows caregivers to collaborate with patients to provide high-quality care while maintaining physical distance to prevent COVID-19 transmission. The researchers argue that Americans spend an average of 123 minutes per clinical visit, with an average face-to-face time with a physician of 20.5 minutes.Telemedicine appointments eliminate travel and waiting times and save patients an average of $19-$121 per visit (Kichloo et al., 2020, p. 6). As a result, the study supports the contention that telehealth technology increases care convenience, timeliness, and affordability, especially for patients in rural areas.Davidson, R., Barrett, D. I., Rixon, L., & Newman, S. (2020). How the integration of telehealth and coordinated care approaches impact health care service organization structure and ethos: Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Nursing, 3(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.2196/20282In this scholarly study, Davidson et al. (2020) conducted a multinational project to explore the use of coordinated care and telehealth. The study’s objective was to assess how healthcare organizations’ setup influences the perceptions and experience of service managers and frontline staff during the development and deployment of integrated care with and without telehealth.According to Davidson et al. (2020), telehealth and telecare are assistive technologies that support coordinated care of patients with social care needs or chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.In this sense, these technologies enable information exchange between agencies, remote health status monitoring, and reduce hospital visits, curtailing care costs.Despite these potential benefits of telehealth, various factors, including lack of managerial knowledge, nurses’ shortage, and underfunded social care services, compromise the technology’s effectiveness. The researchers propose continuous organizational evolution as a way of improving telehealth technology.Above, the research reveals a positive correlation between telehealth technology and effective care coordination, improved performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration.The interviewed frontline staff members supported the idea of implementing telehealth based on the level of patient involvement in coordinated care (P<.001) tailored training to support telehealth and care coordination (p<.0001) (Davidson et al., 2020, p. 6). As a result, it is a credible evidence source that supports the topic.
Organizational Factors that Affect Telehealth Technology
Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth benefits and barriers. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 17(2), 218–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013In this article, Gajarawala and Pelkowski (2021) focus on telehealth benefits and potential barriers. They define telehealth as a “subset of e-health and the use of telecommunication technology in health care delivery, information, and education” (p. 218).Further, the researchers contend that telehealth technology supports various components of telemedicine, including medical education, remote patient monitoring, patient consultation via videoconferencing, wireless health applications, and transmission of imaging and medical reports (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021, p. 218).The original idea of implementing telehealth technology was to provide quality and convenient care to rural and underserved patients. However, the technology proves effective and successful in multiple medication specialties and settings.According to Gajarawala & Pelkowski (2021), telehealth provides access to resources and care for patients in rural areas where caregiver shortages are prevalent. The technology improves efficiency without higher net cost, reduces patient travel and wait time, and allows for comparable or improved quality of care (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021).However, organizations should ensure data accuracy, promote patient privacy and confidentiality, and curtail fraud to ensure the technology’s applicability and effectiveness. This study validates the essence of transforming organizational culture to assimilate telehealth technology.Neville, C. W. (2018). Telehealth: A balanced look at incorporating this technology into practice. SAGE Open Nursing, 4, 237796081878650. https://doi.org/10.1177/2377960818786504The scholarly article explores the use of telehealth and the ability to provide healthcare services to patients through interactive technology and telecommunication tools (Neville, 2018).The researcher argues that telehealth includes various routes of care delivery, including patient consultations through teleconferencing, image transmission, e-health patient portals, vital sign remote monitoring, consumer-focused wireless applications, and continued medical education.These multiple care delivery mechanisms translate to benefits such as telesurgery/remote robotic surgery, timely interdisciplinary team collaboration and communication, cost reduction by reducing clinical visits, and access to healthcare professionals, services, and improved care.However, Neville (2018) identifies multiple organizational factors as barriers to effective telehealth utilization. For instance, the article identifies legal and ethical compliance, fraud, privacy, and malpractice liability as potential barriers to telehealth’s effectiveness.Also, Neville (2018) argues that telehealth implementation is a cost-intensive process due to the overhead costs of software, hardware, and other communication devices. As a result, this study offers a two-sided perspective on telehealth, making it a credible and reliable evidence source for the topic.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Despite the underlying barriers to telehealth’s effectiveness, the current literature links the technology with improved care quality, enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration and productivity, patient satisfaction, and care coordination.However, health organizations should transform their culture and sustain norms that support telehealth. For instance, staff training and adequate resource allocations can improve telehealth by bolstering employees’ knowledge of the essentials for telehealth technology and enhancing successful implementation.Further, health institutions need to transform privacy policies to prevent fraud and other cybersecurity threats from utilizing virtual platforms.Finally, organizations should collaborate with government agencies to adopt appropriate reimbursement models to reduce the cost burden of installing software, hardware, and other devices pertinent to telehealth.
References
Davidson, R., Barrett, D. I., Rixon, L., & Newman, S. (2020). How the integration of telehealth and coordinated care approaches impact health care service organization structure and ethos: Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Nursing, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.2196/20282Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth benefits and barriers. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 17(2), 218–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013Kichloo, A., Albosta, M., Dettloff, K., Wani, F., El-Amir, Z., Singh, J., Aljadah, M., Chakinala, R. C., Kanugula, A. K., Solanki, S., & Chugh, S. (2020). Telemedicine, the current COVID-19 pandemic, and the future: A narrative review and perspectives moving forward in the USA. Family Medicine and Community Health, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2020-000530Neville, C. W. (2018). Telehealth: A balanced look at incorporating this technology into practice. SAGE Open Nursing, 4, 237796081878650. https://doi.org/10.1177/2377960818786504
NURS-FPX4040 Assessment 3 Instructions Technology in Nursing Instructions
Write a 4-6 page annotated bibliography where you identify peer-reviewed publications that promote the use of a selected technology to enhance quality and safety standards in nursing. Before you begin to develop the assessment you are encouraged to complete the Annotated Bibliography Formative Assessment.
Completing this activity will help you succeed with the assessment and counts towards course engagement. Rapid changes in information technology go hand-in-hand with progress in quality health care delivery, nursing practice, and interdisciplinary team collaboration. The following are only a few examples of how the health care field uses technology to provide care to patients across multiple settings:
Patient monitoring devices.
Robotics.
Electronic medical records.
Data management resources.
Ready access to current science.
Technology is essential to the advancement of the nursing profession, maintaining quality care outcomes, patient safety, and research. This assessment will give you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of how technology can enhance quality and safety standards in nursing.
You will prepare an annotated bibliography on technology in nursing. A well-prepared annotated bibliography is a comprehensive commentary on the content of scholarly publications and other sources of evidence about a selected nursing-related technology.
A bibliography of this type provides a vehicle for workplace discussion to address nursing practice gaps and improve patient care outcomes.
As nurses become more accountable in their practice, they are being called upon to expand their caregiver role and advocate for fostering research and scholarship to advance nursing practice. An annotated bibliography stimulates innovative thinking to find solutions and approaches to effectively and efficiently address these issues.
DEMONSTRATION OF PROFICIENCY
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 3: Evaluate the impact of patient care technologies on desired outcomes.
Analyze current evidence on the impact of a selected patient care technology on patient safety, quality of care, and the interdisciplinary team.
Integrate current evidence about the impact of a selected patient care technology on patient safety, quality of care, and the interdisciplinary team into a recommendation.
Competency 4: Recommend using technology to enhance patient quality and safety standards.
Describe organizational factors influencing the selection of technology in the health care setting.
Justify the implementation and use of a selected technology in a healthcare setting.
Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication to facilitate use of health information and patient care technologies.
Create a clear, well-organized, and professional annotated bibliography, generally free from grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for all bibliographic entries.
PREPARATION
To complete this assessment, perform the following preparatory activities:
Select a single direct or indirect patient care technology that is relevant to your current practice or interests you. Direct patient care technologies require an interaction, or direct contact, between the nurse and the patient.
Nurses use direct patient care technologies every day when delivering care to patients. Electronic thermometers or pulse oximeters are examples of direct patient care technologies.
Indirect patient care technologies, on the other hand, are those employed on behalf of the patient. They do not require interaction, or direct contact, between the nurse and patient. A handheld device for patient documentation is an example of an indirect patient care technology. Examples of topics to consider for your annotated bibliography include:
Delivery robots.
Electronic medication administration with barcoding.
Electronic clinical documentation with clinical decision support.
Patient sensor devices/wireless communication solutions.
Real-time location systems.
Telehealth.
Workflow management systems.
Conduct a library search using the various electronic databases available through the Capella University Library.
Consult the BSN Program Library Research Guide to help identify scholarly and authoritative sources.
Access the NHS Learner Success Lab, linked in the courtroom navigation menu, for additional resources.
Scan the search results related to your chosen technology.
Select four peer-reviewed publications focused on your topic that are the most interesting to you.
Notes
Publications may be research studies or review articles from a professional source. Newspapers, magazines, and blogs are not considered professional sources.
Your selections need to be current—within the last five years.
