Online Program

325081
Nursing Star Trek Style


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Erin Bush, RNC-MNN, South Central Telehealth Resource Center, UAMS Center for Distance Health, Little Rock, AR
Sarah Kinder, PhD, DNP, APRN, College of Medicine, UAMS Center for Distance Health, Little Rock, AR
Adam Cherepski, MEd, Instructional Development, UAMS Center for Distance Health, Little Rock, AR
Oftentimes, the most critical causes of disparities related to obstetrical outcomes in rural areas are long travel distances to clinics (Ziller, Lenardson, & Coburn, 2011), a decreased percentage of insured women (Ziller et al., 2011), and increased rates of poverty (Larson, Murowchick, & Hart, 2008), which all contribute to the overall problem of rural residents’ lack of access to care.  

During pregnancy when a woman’s health may be compromised through complications, these barriers and limited access to care are compounded. Women with complicated pregnancies who live in rural areas have limited access to obstetrical providers or specialized providers, such as maternal fetal medicine specialists or neonatologists (Bailey & Cole, 2009). Currently, more than 25% of all women of childbearing age have a chronic illness. Should they become pregnant, more specialized care would be needed than the family practice doctor who delivers infants at the local rural hospital. Through telehealth, rural and urban health care providers alike can help bridge the gap and improve access to care for pregnant women and neonates (Bronstein et al., 2011; Magann et al., 2011). 

Successful telemedicine teams require a champion to implement, grow and sustain the program. The nurse is an essential part of this important and growing public health tool. It is expensive, time consuming, and sometimes dangerous to transport patients multiple times from their rural community to a specialist in an urban area. A clinical nurse who is trained in telemedicine can support a telemedicine program that brings the healthcare team to the patient in true patient and family centered style.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
Differentiate between telemedicine and telehealth. Explain how telemedicine improves access to care and reduces health disparities. Define the common terms used in telemedicine.

Keyword(s): Telehealth, Nurses/Nursing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: This is a telehealth nursing presentation or poster and I am the Director of the South Central Telehealth Resource Center. I am also a nationally certified maternal-newborn nurse with telemedicine experience.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.