ROUGH DRAFT FOR RESEARCH PAPER (7 pages)

Telehealth and Nursing Homes

Name of the Student

Name of the Affiliate University

Telehealth and Nursing Homes

Research topic: Should Telehealthcare be a great option and cost-effective for Nursing Homes?

Description and Purpose

My research topic regards how Telehealth can be a great option for Nursing Homes due to the cost-effectiveness attached to it. I chose this topic since I discovered that benefits attached to Telehealth can be used to improve nursing homes.

Telehealth helps nursing homes to reduce their costs. For instance, nursing homes that can adopt Telehealth can achieve cost effectiveness because Telehealth will reduce emergency transports which are extremely costly (Wicklund, 2018). Reduction of emergency transports will save some funds for nursing homes and therefore achieve cost effectiveness in their operations.

Telehealth will reduce the probability of mortalities that may take place in nursing homes. Telehealth is capable to provide real-time clinical support to patients. Thus, mortalities that may arise in nursing homes due to lack of real-time clinical support will be curbed if Telehealth is adopted.

Telemedicine helps nursing homes to overcome challenges they face when providing round-the-clock care for patients with complex medical conditions. Moreover, Telemedicine and Telehealth improve care management of nursing homes and reduce emergency transports.

Lastly, Telehealth and telemedicine can help skilled nursing homes to bring critical healthcare services to their residents. Therefore, it helps nursing homes to improve wellness outcomes, the quality of healthcare services and also reduces costly ER transports.

Types of audiences that would be interested in the topic

The three major audiences that would be interested in this topic include nursing care facilities, residents of communities where healthcare is available, and healthcare physicians.

Approaches to the different audiences concerning the Telehealth and Nursing Homes

The three different types of audiences will be approached in different approaches based on their knowledge of Telehealth.

Nursing Homes

Nursing homes will be approached using workshops which will provide knowledge on the cost-effectiveness that nursing homes will achieve after adopting Telehealth in their residents. The management of different nursing homes shall be taken through the concept of Telehealth by physicians already engaged in the program. Secondly, nursing homes will be attached to physicians with exemplary knowledge and skills on Telehealth who will assist the homes to incorporate Telehealth in their healthcare services. Engaging Telehealth with nursing homes will increase their support for the program.

Nursing Home Physicians

Nursing homes already have physicians and nurses who previously had no knowledge on Telehealth (Edmondson, 2017). Physicians need health care leaders to understand how to provide Telehealth which involves virtual care. Provision of Telehealth is not easy and requires guidance from healthcare leaders. Leaders should first help nursing home physicians to understand different methods of gathering and capturing virtual data and how information should be weighted to make a diagnosis. Physicians will also be coached to improve verbal communication to enhance their interaction and understanding with patients.

Residents

Residents to be provided with healthcare will be approached through Telehealth simulation workshops. These workshops will help residents to understand the importance of Telehealth. Residents will also be collaborated together with Telehealth specialists to allow consultations. Physicians will run patient education programs which will involve the development, implementation, and evaluation of Telehealth services outcomes in the community. Such an approach will wipe away any negative attitudes of the community on Telehealth.

References

Edmondson, T. (2017). Telehealth — An Untapped Opportunity for Nursing Facilities. Today’s Geriatric Medicine, 10(No. 3), 28. Retrieved from http://www.todaysgeriatricmedicine.com/archive/MJ17p28.shtml

Wicklund, E. (2018). Telemedicine Helps SNFs Improve Patient Care, Curb Hospitalizations. Retrieved July 10, 2018, from https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/telemedicine-helps-snfs-improve-patient-care-curb-hospitalizations