Conclusion
It is certain that we need to meet care demands for our patients and raise the bar in delivery of quality and effective healthcare to the nation. Telehealth policy aligns with current reform efforts that increasingly focus on healthcare value, a deviation from the traditional fee-for-service model that incentivizes volume of services rendered. Videoconferencing and other ICT advancements aid in moving toward a value-based future, and thus in achieving the IHI Triple Aim of better health, and better care, at lower costs (IHI, 2016).
Healthcare reform is an ongoing process. As the market continues to expand, nurses can and will be excellent champions for telehealth. It is essential for nurses to undertake the critical advocacy task of identifying an opening opportunities to reach patients in the communities they reside through telehealth. In doing so, nurses will close healthcare delivery gaps and reduce health disparities by stepping forward and utilizing the breadth of their skills to adapt, adopt, and implement telehealth resources and services as commonly accepted, mainstream methods of care delivery.
Errata Notice
The number of nurses reported in this article at 2.6 is incorrect. The correct number is 3.6 million as cited in the document, ANA's Nurses by the Numbers (McMenamin, 2016). This article was amended on August 16, 2017 to include the correct number and citation. The sentence referring to 220,000 advanced practice nurses was also amended to read 208,000 nurse practitioners who are board certified to deliver primary care to more accurately reflect nurse practitioners as a category of advanced practice registered nurses.
Online J Issues Nurs. 2017;22(2) © 2017 American Nurses Association
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