The Impact of using Telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic on Healthcare and Nursing

Hello, everyone, and welcome to today’s presentation on the use of Telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth refers to using electronic information and telecommunication in health care to provide patient care. The exhibition will focus on the Impact of Telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare and nursing. As many people have seen, many healthcare organizations have switched to telecommunication and electronic information during the pandemic, which has affected the healthcare system. The presentation will focus on patient safety, quality of care, risk management, patient privacy and confidentiality, security of patient data, Impact on the population, ethical practices, compliance with legal mandates, and organizational infrastructure.

Here is an outline of the presentation. We will begin by discussing the use of Telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, we’ll discuss the impacts of Telehealth on healthcare and nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, we’ll look at the issues concerning the application of Telehealth.

The COVID-19 virus was spreading rapidly, and the best strategies to prevent the spread of infection were keeping social distance, total lockdown, quarantine, and isolation. To abide by these preventive measures, the interaction was to be limited, especially in healthcare. Therefore, the need for caring for patients in their homes or with minimal interaction led many healthcare facilities to start using Telehealth. With Telehealth, healthcare organizations began using telecommunication and electronic information to communicate with patients, manage them, and monitor their progress. Between 2019 and 2020, there was a rapid increase in the use of Telehealth to work with patients during the pandemic, where telehealth visits increased by over 150% (Koonin et al., 2020). Telehealth was also used for communication among healthcare providers and thus had a great impact on healthcare and nursing.

During the pandemic, Telehealth has had a lot of positive Impacts. Telehealth reduces interaction between patients and professionals, hence ensuring social distancing. Therefore, it reduced the spread of Covid 19, which reduced the cases. Through providing social distancing, vulnerable patients were safe from Covid 19. The system ensures accuracy and reduces medical errors, increasing patient safety (Caetano et al., 2020). The plans also monitor and evaluate the trends of patients’ condition, which help improve the quality of care. Telehealth improved communication among healthcare professionals and between patients and professionals, which improved effectiveness and efficiency in healthcare facilities. The cost of healthcare, especially for patients, has reduced since hospital admissions have been reduced.

However, Telehealth had some negative impacts. It reduced nurse-patient interaction, essential in managing some risks and risky conditions. Nurses should be physically present to assess the needs and risks of the patient by taking both objective and subjective data. Telehealth prevents the collection of accurate data, which is essential in managing some conditions, such as cardiovascular conditions. Therefore, risk management of some conditions was poor—the quality of care of patients in distant areas that require physical contact with professionals is reduced. Technology increased the use of computers, smartphones, and the internet, which improved other aspects such as communication. There is also high initial cost, such as buying hardware, software, smartphones, and systems and hiring professionals. The patients also have to incur extra charges to purchase computers and smartphones and the internet to use the technology. The use of Telehealth improved access and sharing of health information among people, which improved the overall health of people in the community. The use of technology, however, reduced patient confidentiality, privacy, and security of data since the technology allows sharing of information. The technology is also prone to breaches, such as through cyber attacks.