Question

Case Study

Mrs. Smith is 82 years old and is diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. Her two children live in California, while she lives in North Carolina in a small family home on 10 acres of land in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mrs. Smith has been in the hospital four times in the last year due to congestive heart failure. As her eyesight and mobility get worse with age, she has found it a challenge to stay on her medical plan and to do her shopping for the right foods she knows she should be eating. Mrs. Smith’s health plan, Purple Cross of North Carolina, assigned a nurse case manager to address her situation. Purple Cross provided a digital scale and a remote monitoring device that recorded Mrs. Smith’s condition every day by uploading her weight and transmitting the answers to a series of questions on a touch screen kiosk. The case manager also coordinated delivery of Meals on Wheels, providing low-sodium, diabetic-compliant dinners to Mrs. Smith on an ongoing basis. The case manager calls Mrs. Smith twice a week, taking the time to educate her about her medications, her activities, and the disease-specific elements that will keep her healthy and out of the hospital. When the case manager identifies that Mrs. Smith can no longer organize her daily medications, a digital medication dispenser will be provided that will keep her on her medication regimen. The medication dispenser will be preloaded with Mrs. Smith’s medications and will issue a subtle doorbell tone when it is time to take them. With the combination of remote and real-time (telephonic) support persons and technologies, Mrs. Smith can remain in her home and avoid further inpatient admissions.

To complete this assignment:

Read the case study above.

Assume the role as the Public Relations Director for Purple Cross of North Carolina.The CEO directs you to interview the Telehealth Director regarding the use of Telehealth with Mrs. Smith. The CEO directs you to create one thought-provoking question for each of the following topics:

Meeting the health needs of Mrs. Smith

Decision-making process for technology selected for Mrs. Smith

Benefits and risks in using Telehealth technology for Mrs. Smith

Cost and staff involved in using Telehealth technology for Mrs. Smith

Answer 1

Topic: Meeting the health needs of Mrs. Smith

Question: Did the technology meet the health needs of Mrs. Smith?

Rationale:

Telehealth helps the health care system to meet the requirements. Telehealth helps the patients to share the health-related information using devices even from a remote place. The physician can monitor the health condition of the patient such as BP, blood glucose, daily weight, and other needed data and to support them with the health care services. It also supports self-healthcare management.

Topic: Decision-making process for technology selected for Mrs. Smith

Question: Which technology is best suitable for Mrs. Smith?

Rationale:

The patient data monitoring is best suitable services for this patient. The home telehealth app captures certain data such as vital signs, Bp, blood glucose, weight, ECG to the case manager. In addition, the use of medicine dispenser, helps Mrs. Smith to use correct medications on time without fail. It also helps the case manager to connect through phone video and assist her in the daily activities.

Topic: Benefits and risk of telehealth technology

Question: What are the benefits and risk of telehealth technology?

Rationale:

Benefits:

• It meets the needs of the patient even in the rural area.
• It fewer costs and saves time.
• Better access to services and support from the healthcare provider.
• It minimizes the hospitalization visit.

Risks:

• The doctor cannot evaluate the patient physically.
• Device cost is high and both the patient and healthcare provider should be trained in the use of technologies.
• Cannot maintain the patient record so that the continuity of care is decreased.
• Chance of misdiagnosing in some conditions.

Topic: Cost and staff involved in using telehealth technology for Mrs.Smith?

Question: What are the estimated cost and need of telehealth technology?

Rationale:

The cost includes equipment cost, one-time implementation cost, software installation, training cost and maintenance cost. The staff involved are IT staff for installation, General practitioners, Practice nurse, and specialist if needed.