American Military University Telemedicine Questions
ANSWER
Issues with APRNs, Telehealth, and Policy
Particularly for people living in rural and underdeveloped areas, telehealth and telemedicine have significantly increased access to healthcare. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are in an excellent position to support telehealth care delivery. They address policy concerns in Schlachta-Fairchild, Varghesej, Deickman, and Castellik’s (2010) discussion of APRN practice and virtual care. The following could be the most critical problem out of those listed:
Licensure and Interstate Practice: The disparity in licensure requirements between states is among the most critical legislative challenges for APRNs in telehealth service. Given that telehealth crosses state lines, APRNs may encounter difficulties practicing across borders due to variations in license, scope of practice, and laws. This may restrict the availability of telehealth services and make it more difficult for patients to get care, particularly in regions with a shortage of medical professionals.
APRNs can take these steps to be compliant:
APRNs using telehealth may do the following to stay in compliance with regional and federal practice laws and reimbursement guidelines:
Awareness of Licensure and Regulations: APRNs must know the laws and rules governing licensure in the states where they offer telehealth services. This involves being aware of the prescription laws, supervision requirements, and scope of practice.
Credentialing and Privileges: APRNs must go through protocols to get telehealth service-specific credentials and privileges. This exhibits knowledge and adherence to rules.
Adherence to Telehealth Guidelines: Safe and efficient care delivery is guaranteed by adhering to telehealth-specific guidelines and best practices. This can entail telehealth technology and protocol training.
Documenting and record-keeping: For legal, financial, and continuity of care reasons, complete documenting of telehealth contacts is crucial.
Healthcare Organization’s Role in Access to Telehealth:
As a healthcare administrator, an organization’s responsibilities in giving the public access to telehealth services include:
Infrastructure: To ensure safe and seamless virtual consultations, the business should invest in telehealth technology and infrastructure.
Education: Educating healthcare professionals on telehealth procedures, including privacy and security protocols, is essential.
Patient Education: The organization must inform patients about the availability, advantages, and methods for obtaining telehealth services.
Healthcare administrators can promote sensible reimbursement practices to guarantee that telehealth services are economically sustainable for patients and providers.
Question 2: Educating staff on health literacy and the use of the patient portal
As a health administrator, you must take the following actions to ensure that your team can effectively help patients of all health literacy levels use patient portals:
Assessing Patients’ Health Literacy: Start by evaluating the patients’ degree of health literacy. Evaluate their comprehension of medical knowledge using approved tools or techniques.
Question Description
I’m working on a health & medical discussion question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.
1. Telehealth and telemedicine exploits technology to broaden the reach of healthcare to include rural and medically underserved communities. APRNs are poised to play a vital role in delivery of telehealth care. Schlachta-Fairchild, Varghesej, Deickman, and Castellik (2010) discuss policy issues relevant to APRN practice and telehealth care. Which of those issues do you consider most critical? What actions should be taken by APRNs to remain compliant with local and national practice regulations and reimbursement policies? If you are a healthcare administrator, what is the role of an organization in providing access to telehealth services to the community?
2. How would you as a health administrator, train your staff to ensure that they are capable of helping patients of all health literacy levels use patient portals to obtain and understand basic information needed to make decisions about their care?