In the case of the healthcare institution in Northern Maine
The issue is that medical care is inaccessible owing to a lack of transportation. In such circumstances, the hospital should think about implementing telehealth, which entails the use of technology like telecommunication and electronic information to enable remote patient care. (Hoyt, 2015). Therefore, medical professionals may care for patients remotely thanks to technology.
Prior to introducing telehealth
It's crucial to examine various hospital locations as well as the perspective of the patient. By using telehealth, it is out rightly clear that the 19-year-old female will be able to see the dermatologists remotely without going having to travel. Hence, the technology will not only help the patient receive care on time but also increase efficiency in terms of reduction in waiting time as well as readmission rates (Cresswell, Bates & Sheikh, 2013).
Cost
Cost is another consideration when it comes to implementing electronic visits since it has an impact both on the health care provider and the patient. By using an electronic system, it is evident that the system will be expensive to implement as it involves upfront costs. However, the hospital needs to take note that by using the system, they will be able to serve patients in a timely manner. More importantly, patients are likely to benefit from Medicaid which might not be offered by the local facility. Consequently, using the technology reduces the patients waiting time, increases their satisfaction and makes the hospital reliable.
Regulations
Code of practice is vital for any information system implementation, and in the case of telehealth, it is proper for the health care facility to consider various HIPPA guidelines and policies related to licensure and malpractice insurance coverage. For instance, the organization should ensure patients data transmitted through communication systems is safe from unauthorized personnel (Hoyt, 2015). Moreover, it is important to take a good look at state laws and policies before practicing because it is likely that they differ from state to state (Adler-Milstein, Kvedar & Bates, 2014).
Culture
Organizational culture is an antecedent to the success of telehealth system. Hence, before implementing the system, it is proper to engage all the stakeholders including patients and doctors to ensure they are a brace with the importance of the underlying change (Wade, Eliott & Hiller, 2014). Furthermore, it is difficult for various stakeholders in the rural areas to accept technological change for fear of losing their jobs as well as for security reasons. Therefore, it is proper for the facility to indulge appropriate organizational change strategy to ensure effective and efficient health care system.
Conclusion
Telehealth is beneficial to a health facility since it provides a means by which the organization can offer medical care virtually (Hoyt, 2015). On one side, the system helps in driving volume, reducing costs through readmission reduction, as well as avoiding unnecessary department visits since the patients don't have to wait for nine months to receive medical care. On the other side, it facilitates in the provision of specialty services by allowing remote access to services such as dermatology as well as provide access to facilities that accept Medicaid. Also, it is convenient as it saves the patient traveling costs as it involved little or no traveling cost.
On the contrary, it has drawbacks
In that it may be ineffective as the clinician is not able to examine the patient physically. Also, it might be so expensive since a lot of training is required in installing the system as well as training the nursing practitioners. Finally, with the ever increasing usage of technology, a lot of infrastructures as well as policy barriers inadequacies, have to be overcome. For instance, medical care reimbursement is usually restricted to the professions who are eligible to deliver telehealth services thus making the system less efficient (Adler-Milstein, Kvedar & Bates, 2014).
References
Hoyt, R. E. (2015). Health informatics: Practical guide for healthcare and information technology professionals. Morrisville: Lulu.com.
Cresswell, K. M., Bates, D. W., & Sheikh, A. (2013). Ten key considerations for the successful implementation and adoption of large-scale health information technology. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 20(e1), e9-e13.
Adler-Milstein, J., Kvedar, J., & Bates, D. W. (2014). Telehealth among US hospitals: several factors, including state reimbursement and licensure policies, influence adoption. Health Affairs, 33(2), 207-215.
Wade, V. A., Eliott, J. A., & Hiller, J. E. (2014). Clinician acceptance is the key factor for sustainable telehealth services. Qualitative health research, 24(5), 682-694.
