Info needed on Telemedicine

[dclarke]

Hey guys,

I am a Med-Surg nurse currently trying to balance working, studying and being a mom. Anyway, I need some assistance on an assignment if possible. I am researching telemedicine program specifically for CHF in the elderly. However, if anyone can provide information on any telemedicine program I would be grateful. I have to interview a nurse who has experience with this program and the questions are as follows (This is my first time on the forum so please forgive me if this post is inappropriate. Also if answering these questions are too much perhaps we could do a skype interview?):

What is the program?

What are the program’s specific objectives?

What is one of the main strategies used in the program? Why was that one chosen?

What level of intervention (primary, secondary, tertiary) does the program address?

What is your role in the program? Who else is involved, and what are their roles?

If you were involved in developing the program:

How was the program planned and implemented?

How has the program been funded?

What obstacles/challenges have you faced in developing or managing the program?

If you were not involved in developing the program:

Why and how was this program selected?

If this involves a referral, under what circumstances do you refer clients to this program?

What do you know about the planning and implementation of this program, and obstacles/challenges the program has faced?

What are the intervention program’s outcomes, and how are these measured/evaluated? What aspects of the program have been particularly successful? Unsuccessful?

If someone were to create a new program to address this health problem, what do you think are the most important factors to consider? Why?

A big THANK YOU to anyone able to help. Muchas gracias!

[azdesertflower]

Check out the VA (Veteran's Affairs) website. they do telemedicine, I think they call it "telehealth". They specifically have pts with chronic illnesses like CHF, DM, COPD. They use a "telebuddy", which is a computerized BP cuff, sp02 etc. is put in the pts' home. Then every morning they do their vitals and it gets sent into a main office. An RN reads over the data and if anything is outta wack, the pt gets a call from the RN about meds or needing a doctor visit. The VA also uses video to do remote offices visits between pts and their MD. VA has the largest program in telemedicine.

Good luck!

[Isabelle49]

I worked as a home health nurse for a company that used the telemedicine system for CHF, heart patients. It's okay, though certainly not a fix for these patient's conditions. What I did not like was being told that the RN was to never obtain a BP with her own cuff and that it should only be done with the monitor. Somehow, I felt this was a problem. Patients always seemed to have a higher BP with the machine, than with a manual done by myself. They were recerted over and over and over again. I don't like it at all. I don't think it it appropriate for a patient who is a stable CHF, maybe good for a recent hospital d/c'd patient who does still require close monitoring, but on a short term basis until stable.

[dclarke]

Thanks for responding :). Azdesertflower: I will be sure to check the VA's site and thanks Isabelle for your personal view. I will be sure to use it in my paper.

Gone to research!