Welcome to the future of healthcare! Telehealth nursing has taken the world of health care by storm and is reshaping the future of patient care. In this blog, we will navigate the pros and cons of telehealth nursing. It provides virtual care to the patients which has made it accessible and convenient to the patient, but it comes with its drawbacks. In this blog, we will discuss the pros and cons of telehealth in nursing.
What is Telehealth Nursing?
“Telehealth nursing where technology meets healthcare.” In telehealth nursing the nurses use technologies such as phones, video calls, and mobile apps to connect with the patient and provide healthcare services. Nurses can provide patient care remotely without the need to go to the location.
Importance of Telehealth in nursing:
We saw an increase in telehealth nursing during the pandemic. When there was a lockdown and everyone was scared to step out of their house, people needed healthcare advice and care. To cope with this problem, telehealth nursing was a game changer where patients were able to connect with their healthcare providers without leaving the house.
Types of Telehealth Nursing
Before discussing the pros and cons, let us first discuss its types:
- Video conferencing: Telehealth nurses interact and communicate with their patients through phone calls or video calls.
- Remote patient monitoring: Nurses monitor the health data of the patients outside the clinical settings or remotely such as their vital signs, heart rate blood sugar, and more.
- Store-and-forward: A type of telehealth nurse that allows them to store patient health data and forward it to other healthcare providers if necessary.
- Mobile health: As the name indicates using mobile and other technologies in healthcare such as apps, gadgets, smartphones, and more.
- Tele dermatology: Treatment of skin conditions remotely without visiting personally is known as tele dermatology.
Telehealth in Nursing Pros and Cons
We all know that health nursing is the new evolution in healthcare, but it has its pros and cons. Let us dive into the advantages and disadvantages of telehealth nursing.
Pros
Some of the advantages are:
- Accessibility
- Convenient
- Cost-effective
- Continuing care
- Increased efficiency
- Minimizing risks of infection
Accessibility:
The first advantage is accessibility. With the help of tele nursing patients can connect and communicate with their healthcare providers online or on phones without visiting in person. this helps in the following:
- Saves the patient’s time.
- Patients do not have to leave their work for their schedules.
- Telehealth nursing also helps in increased patient care as patients can seek advice from their healthcare providers at any time without postponing their appointments.
- Telehealth nursing also helps to reduce burdens on healthcare facilities.
Convenience:
Another pro is that patients can receive care that fits their lifestyle. Some of the examples of how telehealth nursing is convenient for patients are as follows:
- Patients do not have to go to the office to get an appointment, instead, they can schedule their appointment online which saves them time.
- Patients with mobility issues also have an advantage from telehealth nursing for example if a patient is paralyzed, they can talk to their healthcare provider on the phone without going in person.
Cost-effective:
It proves to be cost-effective for both patients and the healthcare providers.
- Elimination of travel costs for both patients and nurses
- Patients can take an online schedule during break time and avoid loss of income.
- Telehealth nursing appointments are less expensive than in-person appointments.
- It helps the nurses to make more appointments in less time which can increase their income.
- As telenursing is done from home, healthcare providers don’t have to pay for extra space or furniture.
Continuity of care:
The other advantage is patients get continuity of care without any problems. Some patients with chronic conditions need continuous monitoring which can be made easy through telehealth nursing. With the help of telehealth nursing a patient can get immediate access if there is any change in their symptoms without waiting for days.
Increased efficiency:
The other benefit is increased efficiency in healthcare delivery. With the help of telehealth nursing providers or nurses can see more patients in less time due to fewer in-person visits. How telehealth nursing helps in increased efficiency is as follows:
- Faster appointments with no hassle of check-ins.
- Reduced number of no-shows.
- Streamline documentation to avoid extra time needed for manual work.
- Optimize workflow for triage and follow-up.
Minimizing risk infections:
As we all know telehealth became the best solution during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide care to patients. One of the pros of telehealth nursing is to limit in-person interactions which can reduce the risk of infections. Some of the examples of how telehealth nursing helps minimize the risk of infections are as follows:
- Reducing the spread of diseases and infections
- Protecting patients with chronic diseases that have a considerable risk of getting an infection.
- Enabling quarantine and isolation for patients who have a contagious disease and can still get medical help.
- Telehealth also helps to protect nurses or healthcare providers from contagious diseases as they are at high risk when treating a patient.
Cons
We have discussed the benefits and pros, and now let us shed some light on the cons or disadvantages as well:
- Limited physical assessment
- Privacy concerns
- Technology barriers
- Limited services
- Not suitable for emergencies
Limited physical assessment:
The first disadvantage is limited physical assessment. This means that nurses or other healthcare providers cannot do physical examinations on patients which might affect the diagnosis process in some cases.
Privacy concerns:
The use of digital platforms can increase privacy concerns. Some of the cons in privacy concerns are:
- Data security risks
- Risk of unauthorized access to devices
- Risk of disclosure of sensitive information
- Electronically transmitted sensitive healthcare information can be encrypted.
Technology barriers:
Technology barriers are another drawback as many people have no access to reliable internet or devices to seek help from providers online. Examples of technology barriers are:
- No reliable internet access.
- Limited access to electronic devices.
- Technical skills gap especially among people of age.
- Some apps or devices may not work in a health platform.
- Devices with limited or low multilingual options.
Limited services:
Another drawback is that it can provide limited services such as complex procedures that cannot be done remotely. Some of the complex procedures such as physical therapy and other diagnosis cannot be delivered.
Not suitable for Emergencies:
Another con is that it is not suitable for emergencies. During emergencies, immediate hands-on care is needed that is not possible through telehealth.
Which patients do you think would most benefit from telehealth?
- Patients living in rural areas
- Patients of age who need regular checkups.
- People with chronic conditions.
- People with mobility issues.
Conclusion
No doubt telehealth in nursing is reshaping the landscape of healthcare technology. However, there are pros and cons to it. in this blog, we have discussed in detail the advantages and disadvantages of telehealth nursing. The pros of healthcare nursing include accessibility, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. The cons include limited physical assessment, privacy concerns, and limited services. Even with these cons we still see the field of telehealth nursing evolving with time.
