TELENURSING Ruhiyyih C.Barnachia, RN, MAN

Telenursing is a component of telehealth that occurs when nurses meet the health needs of clients, using information, communication and web-based systems. It has been defined as the delivery, management and coordination of care and services provided via information and telecommunication technologies.

One of the most distinctive telenursing applications is home care, where patients who are immobilized, live in remote or difficult to reach places, or have chronic conditions like COPD, diabetes, congestive heart disease, or neural degenerative diseases can be 'visited' and assisted regularly by a nurse via videoconferencing, internet, videophone, etc.

Telemedicine can be traced to the late 1950s, while telehealth, the broader use of telecommunication technologies to provide healthcare services, is also mentioned in the text.

Telemedicine is focused on providing healthcare consultation to rural or remote environments, while telehealth is the broader use of telecommunication technologies to provide healthcare services to clients and access health-related information for both clients and healthcare providers.

Telenursing is a specific component of telehealth, where nurses use information, communication and web-based systems to meet the health needs of clients and provide care and services.

Telenursing can be beneficial for patients who are immobilized, live in remote or difficult to reach places, or have chronic conditions like COPD, diabetes, congestive heart disease, or neural degenerative diseases, as they can be 'visited' and assisted regularly by a nurse via videoconferencing, internet, videophone, etc.

Some of the driving forces for telehealth include demographics (such as nursing and healthcare worker shortages), the rise of chronic diseases and conditions, the increasing number of educated consumers, and economic factors.

Some of the key issues in telehealth that need to be addressed include poor reimbursements, legal issues, safety standards, security concerns, and budget constraints.

The Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS) is defined as a minimum set of items of information with uniform definitions and categories concerning the specific dimension of nursing which meets the information needs of multiple data users in the health care system.

The NMDS is an abstraction system or tool designed for the collection of uniform, standard, comparable, minimum nursing data for use across various types of settings and patient groups.

Examples of telehealth services mentioned include electronic search from home or office using Medline or other medical information management and data retrieval services, attendance at grand rounds, CME, conferences, or meetings via audio, video, or conferencing, and access to clinical trial management systems and expert advice online.

Telenursing, as a specific application of telehealth, involves the use of telecommunication technologies to provide nursing care and services remotely. This aligns with the broader concept of telehealth discussed in the passage, which encompasses the delivery of healthcare services and information using technology.

The three main categories of data elements identified in the text are: setting, patient demographics, and nursing care.

The setting category includes data elements such as agency location, ownership of facility, country system of payment, clinical service type, care personnel (number, gender, training and education, full time equivalent for types of personnel), and ratio of patients to personnel.

The text states that the nursing care data elements include nursing diagnoses, nursing interventions, patient outcomes, and intensity of care.