Telehealth

Telehealth

Response to Classmate

Hello,

Great post! I like your response regarding telehealth and the role that communication plays. I realize that telehealth can be either synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous telehealth occurs in real time, while asynchronous telehealth involves the storage of information and forwarding it to the parties. Both types of telehealth require efficient communication. It is important to add that nonverbal communication plays a critical role in telehealth. This significance is due to the emotional exchange that occurs between the patient and physician. Positive therapeutic communication is generated through both verbal and nonverbal connections between patients and their healthcare providers. Emotional care that is required for successful telehealth services entails mutual trust, empathy, respect, and warmth. These practices are known to meet the patient’s emotional needs (Toh et al., 2016). However, even with improved communication skills, telehealth remains questionable due to the patient’s tendency to forget or misinterpret the information. To tackle this problem, the teach-back method of communication is recommended. The method invites the patients into the conversation as opposed to waiting until they can ask questions. The process of explaining the instructions or information in their own words allows the health provider to clarify, correct, or add instructions (Morony & Weir, 2018). Such communication adds value to the process and enables the maximization of benefits.

References

Morony, S., & Weir, K. (2018). Enhancing communication skills for telehealth: development and implementation of a Teach-Back intervention for a national maternal and child health helpline in Australia. BMC Health Services Research, 18(162).

Toh, N., Pawlovich, J., & Grzybowski, S. (2016). Telehealth and patient-doctor relationships in rural and remote communities. Canadian Family Physician, 62(12), 961-963.

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Telehealth

Initial Discussion Prompt

• Define telehealth as a health care delivery method. Explore therapeutic communication and the nurse practitioner-patient relationship in the setting of telehealth. Support your answer with evidence-based research.
  

  Telehealth

Classmate’s Post

Telehealth is the mode of delivering health care services and public health via information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient’s health care while the patient is at the originating site and the health care provider is at a distant site. Telehealth facilitates patient self-management and caregiver support for patients and includes synchronous interactions and asynchronous store-and- forward transfers.

Therapeutic communication is a collection of techniques that prioritize the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the patient. Nurses provide patients with support and information while maintaining a level of professional distance and objectivity. With therapeutic communication, nurses often use open-ended statements and questions, repeat information, or use silence to prompt patients to work through problems on their own.

As telehealth technologies begin to emerge as a potential solution to social distancing, much of the training that is being offered centers around the technical aspect.

In the nurse practitioner-patient relationship in the setting of telehealth and based on recent research conducted by Henry et al. (2018), several themes were identified as being important for establishing a therapeutic relationship or ‘telepresence’. They include:

• Pre-interactional preparation;
• Verbal communication and telemedicine etiquette;
• Non-verbal communication;
• Environmental considerations; and
• Operational training.

Telehealth provide healthcare practitioner with a challenging, flexible learning environment. Telemedicine has the potential to offer outstanding and cost-effective care. It can help improve self-care, facilitate information delivery and enhance the nurse-patient relationship.

All of these benefits must still be measured against the risks and challenges of remote care and the absence of physical examinations. Yet, for patients who feel vulnerable, unsafe or unsupported, the extra reassurance and support that can come from a short telephone call can be a game changer.

Reference

Henry, B, Ames, L, Block, D & Vozenilek, J 2018, ‘Experienced Practitioners’ Views on Interpersonal Skills in Telehealth Delivery’, IJAHSP, vol. 16 no. 2, viewed 17 March, 2021, https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/vol16/iss2/2/

Healthcare Workers. (2021). Retrieved 17 March 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/telehealth.html

Implementation of Video Telehealth to Improve Access to Evidence-Based Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. (2021). Retrieved 17 March 2021, from https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/tmj.2014.0114