The rapid implementation and development of telehealth technologies, particularly over the last decade, can be attributed to the benefits that this mode of health care delivery provides. The common benefits described in the literature include convenience, increased accessibility, increased patient participation, and decreased cost. In addition, telehealth gives power to the patient and encourages self-efficacy in one’s own disease management. Telehealth also facilitates a multidisciplinary team approach to care. The dominant support, however, for the adoption of telehealth practice comes from an economic perspective, showing increased efficiency and cost-savings (Dorsey & Topal, 2016). Despite its efficacy, questions have arisen regarding the ethical considerations of this modality, the security and privacy of the data transmitted, and the sanctity and intimacy of the patient-clinician dyad. Research for this topic topic has shed light on common themes with consideration of ethical and legal implications for both patient and clinician. In the many modes of health care service, the introduction of new modalities, e.g. telehealth, undoubtedly increases the complexity of how care is delivered. It is imperative health clinicians proceed with caution, identify the potential pitfalls from multiple perspectives, and carefully consider the ethical and legal aspects of this new mode of healthcare delivery.
Technology is breaking new ground, offering innovations in care delivery to address:
Stake·hold·er /ˈstākˌhōldər/ noun
(in gambling) an independent party with whom each of those who make a wager deposits the money or counters wagered.
a person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business.
In one study the cost of care to monitor diabetic patients through telehealth was approximately $87,000 as compared to the $232,000 spent by the control group for traditional home health nurse visits (Clark, Capuzzi, & Harrison, 2010).
Telehealth has the potential to impact policy, practice, and to redefine what quality healthcare is.
Telehealth is a groundbreaking health delivery system that is increasing the access of healthcare to vulnerable populations.
The use of telehealth in medical settings has ethical and legal factors that must be taken into consideration before applying them to practice.
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