Technology Trends and Risk
Respond to the post bellow offering additional/alternative ideas regarding opportunities and risks related to the observations shared.
Main Post
I am currently a home telehealth nurse for a large VA hospital. I worked bedside for 17 years prior my current position. Unlike the inpatient setting, the technology and advancement made for the telehealth programs within the VA are impressive and evolving rapidly.
Technology Trends and Risk
An obvious trend within the VA system is the expansion of technology within the telehealth program. A large percentage of the veterans live in rural areas. At the time, home telehealth technology is limited to monitoring patients with chronic diseases through platforms via PC, a device to manually enter readings daily, mobile apps, and manually entering readings through a phone number. The VA is now trending toward video assisted monitoring with home telehealth. There are physician’s offices and community-based clinics are already using this technology. The primary challenge with this technology is the accessibility of reliable signal strength to patients in rural areas. An additional struggle is difficulty with these veterans working with this technology.
Data Safety
The VA medical system has an adequate privacy and security protection as it relates to data safety and information sent through telemedicine modalities. The VA has a dedicated department that strictly monitors all data activity. Despite the security in place there are risk, specifically with telehealth transmission of personal health information. These risks include accidental transmission of household information and activities including personal interactions with family members or indicators when the patient may not be home (Hall & McGraw, 2014).
