Healthcare Systems and Policy
Telehealth
Introduction
According to the International Organization for Standardization, telehealth encompasses the application and use of telecommunication methods and equipment in the provision of medical communication, telemedicine, and health education over a long distance (Polinski et al, 2016). It is as well significant to note that unlike telemedicine that only encompasses the exchange of essential health information and provision of care services, telehealth is broad in scope as it includes both medical and health education. This paper will analyze the potential risks associated with telehealth. Here, several issues will be addressed, including the likelihood of the risk occurring, the scale of its impact, and how the risks can be managed.
- Risk Analysis
| Risk | Impact | Likelihood | Consequence | Rating | Risk Treatment | Responsibility |
| Patient confidentiality and privacy
| Health information is personal and highly confidential, and when such information lands to the wrong hands or is disclosed to public knowledge, it can cause all sorts of harm, including potential economic and health damage. According to (Dinesen et al, 2016), health care facilities tend to be vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is so because usually, the amount of sensitive information that healthcare organizations and hospitals hold is staggering. When such an attack happens and sensitive information lands to the hands of the wrong persons or is leaked, it could cost lives or worse. | Almost certain | Very High | Extreme | Employing data control plans where patient information is securely stored and transmitted in a highly confidential manner through the use of encryption technology or the creation of a VPN. Apart from this, the government under the Ministry of Health should establish policies and procedures in line with data security. When polices and procedures are in place and followed to the latter, the risk of cybersecurity and personal health information landing in the wrong hands will be minimized (Smith et al, 2020).
| It is the responsibility of the Ministry of health and to ensure that patient’s information is stored and transmitted securely. |
| State laws and licensing
| In conventional and traditional healthcare, it is right to assume that both the patient and the healthcare provider are in the same state. This is not the case with telehealth, and for that reason, laws and licensing requirements need to be considered (Henderson, et al, 2013). | Possible | High | Moderate | Since licensing requirements among States tend to vary, the Ministry of health should come up with uniform licensing requirements for all telehealth providers. This may be possible through the creation of an interstate medical licensing board that will be tasked with licensing telehealth providers (Weinstein et al, 2014). | The Ministry of Health, under the Minister for health, should enact strict laws and licenses. |
|
Policies and procedures
| As a new system, telehealth will require policies and procedures that will adequately address and cover all aspects of providing virtual care (Dinesen et al, 2016). This may include how patient identification will be handled, among others. Where the right policies and procedures are not in place, it may risk a patient’s safety. | Almost certain | Very High | Extreme | Right policies and procedures should be put in place to cover all aspects of providing virtual care. | The Ministry of Health under the Minister for Health should push to enact policies and procedures designed to minimize patient’s risks. |
| Malpractice claims and payment disputes
| In the event of payment disputes or multiparticle, parties involved may be affected, including the death of patients. | Likely | High | Extreme | To avoid cases of malpractices and payment disputes which are likely to occur, substantial contracts must be in place (Kruse et al, 2017). Here, the contracts should clearly define key terms, including who owns the data, equipment, and servicing equipment, among others. Compensation and billing should as well be included in these contracts | The Ministry of health individual health care providers and patients should get into contracts which clearly define compensation plans and billing to avoid cases of malpractices and payment disputes |
| Incorrect diagnosis and prescription | It is suggested undetermined requirements for telemedicine may result in either incorrect diagnosis or prescription. This is so because, unlike other exams, a telemedicine exam is not entirely physical. What is more, a patient may send a distorted image, which could result in an incorrect diagnosis (Smith et al, 2020). | Likely | High | Extreme | Having standard equipment for use in telemedicine including cameras to minimize cases of wrong diagnosis and prescriptions | The Ministry of Health, under the Minister for health, should push for legislation to enact the use of standard equipment in telehealth.
|
| Connection breakdown | Even though technology has made it possible for people to communicate all over the world, cases of connection breakdown can not be taken out of the picture. Connection breakdown may result due to extreme weather conditions such as excess rain. In the event of a connection, breakdown communication is impaired, and this could lead to deaths. | Likely | High | Extreme | Countermeasures are put in place as a backup plan in the event of a connection breakdown. This could include a shift from visual-audio to audio. | The Ministry of Health under the Minister for Health should put countermeasures in place as a backup plan in the event of a connection breakdown. |
References
Dinesen, B., Nonnecke, B., Lindeman, D., Toft, E., Kidholm, K., Jethwani, K., … & Gutierrez, M. (2016). Personalized telehealth in the future: a global research agenda. Journal of medical Internet research, 18(3), e53.
Henderson, C., Knapp, M., Fernández, J. L., Beecham, J., Hirani, S. P., Cartwright, M., … & Doll, H. (2013). Cost effectiveness of telehealth for patients with long term conditions (Whole Systems Demonstrator telehealth questionnaire study): nested economic evaluation in a pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial. Bmj, 346.
Kruse, C. S., Krowski, N., Rodriguez, B., Tran, L., Vela, J., & Brooks, M. (2017). Telehealth and patient satisfaction: a systematic review and narrative analysis. BMJ open, 7(8), e016242.
Polinski, J. M., Barker, T., Gagliano, N., Sussman, A., Brennan, T. A., & Shrank, W. H. (2016). Patients’ satisfaction with and preference for telehealth visits. Journal of general internal medicine, 31(3), 269-275.
Smith, A. C., Thomas, E., Snoswell, C. L., Haydon, H., Mehrotra, A., Clemensen, J., & Caffery, L. J. (2020). Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 1357633X20916567.
Weinstein, R. S., Lopez, A. M., Joseph, B. A., Erps, K. A., Holcomb, M., Barker, G. P., & Krupinski, E. A. (2014). Telemedicine, telehealth, and mobile health applications that work: opportunities and barriers. The American journal of medicine, 127(3), 183-187.