Telenursing: What Are its Pros and Cons?
The need for a better healthcare system, together with the evolution of technology, has empowered the world with various avant-garde solutions. Among the leading names amidst this crop of technology-driven healthcare tools, there is one name that has amassed quite a bit of popularity in a relatively short time: Telenursing. As the name suggests, telenursing involves providing care to patients from a remote location. While it remains a relatively new emergence on the scene, it is already starting to take the healthcare industry by storm. And as the adoption grows, there are increasing questions about how it is executed. All understandable.
This is where the ‘technology’ bit comes in handy. Today, telenursing works in a variety of ways and through distinctive mediums. There is video conferencing, which allows nurses to connect with patients virtually and engage with them. Then there’s remote patient monitoring, which helps healthcare providers to monitor patients’ health stats in real-time without necessitating in-person appointments. There’s also digital transmission to share scans, reports, etc. Suffice it to say that there are great tools out there to enable telenursing. Now, let’s take a closer look at their pros and cons too.
Pros:
- Convenience: One of the biggest USPs of telenursing and Telehealth, in general, is the convenience it offers to patients, allowing them to attend appointments from their homes.
- Improved patient engagement: Many people don’t realize but healthcare involves the patients’ involvement too. Tele-nursing seeks to ensure that too by offering patients access to their medical history, records, treatment plans, and more. This serves to provide better awareness and encourages patients to work harder to improve their well-being.
- Better access: Often, medical conditions render patients immobile, making it difficult for them to receive care. Thankfully, this is easily dealt with via telenursing and telehealth in general.
Cons:
- Technology barriers: The concept of telenursing is based on technology. Unfortunately, not all patients and those who need care will have access to the requisite technologies such as smartphones, a reliable internet connection, etc. This can then prevent them from receiving the necessary care.
- Impeded continuity of care: Telenursing and telehealth services can often mean patients using these services are connected to different healthcare providers every time. Then we must also factor in the various apps they may use for conducting medical tests and exams. The disconnect that thus arises can be detrimental to the continuity of care requisite for patients.
- Insurance issues: As noted above, telenursing and telehealth remain a relatively new concept, meaning insurance providers are still figuring out the charges and rate charts. This lack of clarity can result in growing confusion for both patients as well as healthcare service providers.
It is clear to see that the healthcare landscape is evolving quite rapidly, thanks to technology. This can appear challenging to adapt to, but with the right tools, such as telenursing solution, navigating this evolving market can be quite straightforward. Just be sure to pick tools for your arsenal strategically.