My initial thoughts about Telehealth were that it was a new basis of talking to patients virtually, so that they don’t need to come in for in-person appointments. For example, throughout the pandemic, the public was not allowed into primary physician offices. Therefore, they would utilize video chats to hold appointments. I was not aware that there was more to Telehealth, in regard to machinery and robots that are used to benefit the health care field. I also was not previously aware that there were differences between the terms Telehealth and Telemedicine. Telemedicine is the electronic use of medical information that is shared to improve a client’s health. Telehealth is only the use of electronics to support long-distance health care without swapping medical information (AAFP). Although these terms are similar and can be used interchangeably, they are used in different situations. For example, Telehealth is more likely to be used in communication between a client and their provider. Telemedicine is more likely to be used between two professionals that are working for that client’s health status.

Telehealth and Telemedicine has increased immensely since the beginning of the pandemic. People were expected not to go into public during that time, so one of the only ways that they could get healthcare was from within their own home. However, there were a lot of cons that were associated with telehealth in a pandemic. In low-income households, some families did not have access to electronics and did not have the capacity to obtain healthcare appointments from home. The rising need for healthcare, on top of lowering staff numbers also increased the wait times for appointments by weeks to months. Therefore, even though patients had the easy accessibility to be seen through a screen, they still needed to wait long time periods before they could speak with a provider.

In terms of the hospital setting, telehealth and telemedicine were fairly beneficial. Patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 were able to have companions through video chats in hospitals that supported telemedicine. This benefited the patient by helping them feel supported through the process of their healthcare. The also helped the healthcare team better manage caring for their patients when they can offer consistent monitoring through the video systems.

As a future worker in the nursing field, I will most likely need to become more comfortable with Telehealth and Telemedicine as I continue into my career. The service of electronics is constantly improving, and we are finding more ways to include electronics into the healthcare field. I will apply what I learned in this lesson to become more open to change as I grow as a nurse. Hospitals are always going to make changes for growth, and I will need to become flexible to adapt to these changes as I go along with my practice. Therefore, I find that with time, my practice will become enhanced through the help of Telehealth and Telemedicine.

References:

What’s the difference between telemedicine and telehealth? AAFP. (2018, November 12). from https://www.aafp.org/news/media-center/kits/telemedicine-and-telehealth.html