Telehealth and eHealth in nurse practitioner training: current perspectives

Abstract

Telehealth is becoming a vital process for providing access to cost-effective quality care to patients at a distance. As such, it is important for nurse practitioners, often the primary providers for rural and disadvantaged populations, to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to utilize telehealth technologies in practice. In reviewing the literature, very little information was found on programs that addressed nurse practitioner training in telehealth. This article provides an overview of both the topics and the techniques that have been utilized for training nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students in the delivery of care utilizing telehealth. Specifically, this article focuses on topics including 1) defining telehealth, 2) telehealth etiquette, 3) interprofessional collaboration, 4) regulations, 5) reimbursement, 6) security/Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 7) ethical practice in telehealth, and 8) satisfaction of patients and providers. A multimodal approach based on a review of the literature is presented for providing the training: 1) didactics, 2) simulations including standardized patient encounters, 3) practice immersions, and 4) telehealth projects. Studies found that training using the multimodal approach allowed the students to develop comfort, knowledge, and skills needed to embrace the utilization of telehealth in health care.

Improving Telehealth Knowledge in Nurse Practitioner Training for Rural and Underserved Populations

“…A need for primary care clinical experiences was recognized. NP students need to learn telehealth etiquette (Rutledge et al, 2017), practice interprofessional collaboration, and develop skills in using the technology to maximize the benefits for rural and underserved populations. Students also need to recognize the potential practice barriers, which include equipment cost, workflow, staff resistance to change, cultural issues, and provider reimbursement (Daniel & Sulmasy, 2015;Kruse et al, 2018).…”

“…T elehealth has the potential to increase access to highquality care for individuals in rural or medically underserved urban areas. The technology expands care delivery system models using telecommunication and electronic devices to transmit information at a distance in a virtual patient encounter (Health Resources & Service Administration [HRSA], 2015; Rutledge et al, 2017). The term telehealth encompasses telemedicine, which refers to the diagnosis and management of disease (Rutledge et al, 2017;World Health Organization, 2010).…”

“…The technology expands care delivery system models using telecommunication and electronic devices to transmit information at a distance in a virtual patient encounter (Health Resources & Service Administration [HRSA], 2015; Rutledge et al, 2017). The term telehealth encompasses telemedicine, which refers to the diagnosis and management of disease (Rutledge et al, 2017;World Health Organization, 2010). Through the use of technology, health care providers can reach patients in areas where services were previously lacking.…”

“…Different types of learning experiences have been proposed to integrate telehealth in nursing curricula. These experiences include classroom, laboratory, and clinical rotation exposure to telehealth curriculum content (Erickson, Fauchald, & Ideker, 2015;Rutledge et al, 2017). Currently, there are no standards for telehealth education requirements in nurse practitioner (NP) training programs.…”

“…Currently, there are no standards for telehealth education requirements in nurse practitioner (NP) training programs. Although a multimodal approach to tele-health education is suggested (Rutledge et al, 2017), barriers to clinical telehealth experiences have been reported. These barriers include the tracking and scheduling of students in virtual patient visits (Erickson et al, 2015).…”