TELEHEALTH

Telehealth

Abstract

Telehealth is a recent application that involves improvement to the health of the patients through the use of technology. Telehealth encompasses all forms of nursing practices focused on customers, as well as information and training services provided to healthcare professionals through the use of telecommunications or electronic means. Telehomecare is one prime application of telehealth that has become quite famous with the passage of time. Telehomecare is a new way of supporting patients with chronic diseases. It has numerous advantages, disadvantages, financial, ethical and legal concerns that this paper will discuss in order to make the reader well versed will all aspect of this application.

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Introduction

Telehealth is an emerging application of Information Technology and Communication (ICT) applied to health. Telehealth, as well as other information and communication technologies (ICTs) introduced to support the delivery of health services is seen as a means to address many of the challenges in today's challenging health care systems. Telehealth is considered a major innovation in the technological, social, and cultural levels. According to systematic reviews evidence of telehealth benefit has been reported in various applications such as teleradiology, telepsychiatry, transmission of echocardiograms, teledermatology, and telehomecare. All of these applications have become quite imminent with respect to telehealth.

Telehealth encompasses all forms of nursing practices focused on customers, as well as information and training services provided to healthcare professionals through the use of telecommunications or electronic means. Telemedicine is a part of telehealth. Telemedicine means medicine practiced at a distance, including diagnosis and treatment as well as the education care. It is a technological resource that enables the optimization of health care services, saving time and money and providing access to remote areas to take care of specialists. It is another powerful tool in the area of telehealth that provides the use of medical data on appropriate networks is education, where medical and nursing students can learn semiology remotely, supported by their teacher and with the presence of the patient. (Burgess, 2006)

Discussion

The basic concept inherent in telehealth is not to move more information, but to move information and make it available in time and place needed. Although as mentioned earlier there are various telehealth applications, but the applications discussed at length in this paper is telehomecare. Telehomecare is an emerging field that is benefiting home care providers and their patients. It is the use of communications and information technology to deliver health services and exchange health information to and from the home (or community) when distance separates the participants. It does not replace in person home care visits, but is used primarily to augment current services. Telehomecare services can be divided into two major areas that include Electronic house calls and health care centers.

electronic house calls

Electronic house calls are similar to in person home care visits, however instead of travelling to the patient's home, the health professional visits electronically. Electronic house calls are usually clinician initiated, scheduled, and often utilize an interactive video system so that the clinician and patient can see and talk to each other in ...