The Benefits and Challenges of Telehealth During COVID-19

The Benefits and Challenges of Telehealth During COVID-19

Great post! I like how you compared the use of telehealth during Covid-19 and natural disasters. I agree that the current pandemic provides an opportunity to actualize telehealth and almost troubleshoot its functionality. This is a great boost to the healthcare industry. However, I would like to highlight one potential challenge that may occur while relying on telehealth during this pandemic. The incapability of all healthcare providers to change with the current times. Today, health is transmitted through telehealth by default. The need to social distance and remain at home has forced the sector to move into the next phase. However, a few providers lack the resources to adopt suitable models for the delivery of care through telehealth. Furthermore, those who have not adopted any technological support in regard to telehealth are unable to make the shift. Thus, some patients may be unable to access care in real-time due to the providers’ incapability (Lagasse, 2020). Regardless of this aspect, the benefits of telehealth are undeniably far-reaching, especially when patients can access the portals easily.

Most importantly, affordability is critical for both healthcare providers and patients. The use of internet connectivity requires sufficient maintenance resources (Caetano & da Silva, 2020). Those providing support for telehealth models or applications should consider cost as a critical aspect. In addition, the lack of sufficient resources in the family and organizational setting may cause individuals with chronic conditions to delay care, which interferes with the outcome (Wesson, Blandford, & Almaberti, 2020). Moving into the future, providers should adopt the right technology support to facilitate telehealth and accustom patients to this model of care.

References

Caetano, R., & da Silva, R. M. (2020). Challenges and opportunities for telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic: ideas on spaces and initiatives in the Brazilian context. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 36(5).

Lagasse, J. (2020). Telehealth has kept many providers afloat during COVID-19, but there are challenges and limitations.

Wesson, J., Blandford, A., & Almaberti, R. (2020). Opportunities and challenges for telehealth within and beyond a pandemic. The Lancet, 8(11).

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

The Benefits and Challenges of Telehealth During COVID-19

Telehealth has become even bigger than it was years ago due to the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. At a time when being in close proximity to others is shown to be a complexity of transmission for the virus, the entire world has been forced to isolate, quarantine, or distance themselves from one another. The role of telehealth became a safer option between primary care providers and their patients.

Week 8 HP Discussion Response

A recent article published in 2018 in JAMA described telehealth’s role and medical response to disasters or pandemics. When disasters occur, the area hit will call for an increased requirement for medical care that local facilities or providers cannot necessarily deal with single-handedly.

An example of this faulting of Telehealth could be noted as the disaster of Hurricane Maria that ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017. As Internet access and electricity were not available for weeks after Hurricane Maria, attempting to use Telehealth wasn’t a good option. Five components to sustaining telehealth beyond COVID-19 are shared as “developing a skilled workforce, empowering consumers, reforming funding, improving the digital ecosystems, and integrating telehealth into routine care” (Thomas et al., 2020).

The Coronavirus pandemic gave telehealth some time to come to fruition and demonstrate its benefits. This pandemic did not cause problems with electricity or communication methods as hurricanes, tsunamis, or freezing temperatures can.

References

Lurie N, Carr BG. The Role of Telehealth in the Medical Response to Disasters. JAMA Intern Med.2018;178(6):745–746. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.1314

Thomas, E. E., Haydon, H. M., Mehrotra, A., Caffery, L. J., Snoswell, C. L., Banbury, A., & Smith, A. C. (2020). Building on the momentum: Sustaining telehealth beyond COVID-19. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X20960638