Technology Needs Assessment Paper
Technology Needs Assessment Paper
Paper details
Conduct a health information technology needs assessment. Then, present your findings and recommendations, in a 4–5-page executive summary, regarding a new or upgraded telehealth technology for your organization or practice setting. Technology Needs Assessment Paper
Requirements
Determine the need for the new or upgraded telehealth technology. Present your findings and recommendations in an executive summary. Include any available assessments and gap analyses that may have been conducted previously.
The executive summary requirements, outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the Technology Needs Assessment Scoring Guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. The Guiding Questions: Technology Needs Assessment document, linked in the required resources, provides additional considerations that may be helpful in completing your assessment. In addition, be sure to note the requirements below for document format and length and for citing supporting evidence.
Each section of the paper should address each bullet point below completely. Technology Needs Assessment Paper
- Explains the relevance and importance of a needs assessment, and identifies assumptions underlying the suggested needs assessment.
- Identifies the key issues in nursing care affecting patient outcomes that a new or upgraded telehealth technology will address, and impartially considers conflicting evidence and/or other perspectives.
- Identifies the safety requirements and regulatory considerations when using a new or upgraded telehealth technology, and suggests criteria that could be used to evaluate whether requirements are met.
- Identifies the patient confidentiality and privacy protections that a new or upgraded telehealth technology must address, and identifies knowledge gaps, unknowns, missing information, unanswered questions, or areas of uncertainty.
- Describes the potential impact of internal and external stakeholders and end users on the acquisition of a new or upgraded telehealth technology, and identifies assumptions on which this description is based.
- Supports assertions, arguments, conclusions, and recommendations with relevant, credible, and convincing evidence. Skillfully combines error-free source citations with a perceptive and coherent synthesis of the evidence.
- Writes clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style. Main points, ideas, arguments, or propositions are well-developed and engaging. Adheres to all applicable disciplinary and scholarly writing standards and conventions.
Document Format and Length
Format your executive summary using APA style.
- Use the APA Style Paper Template, linked in the resources. An APA Style Paper Tutorial is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your executive summary. Be sure to include:
- A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
- A running head on all pages.
- Appropriate level 1 section headings.
- Your executive summary should be 3–4 pages in length, not including the title page and references page. Technology Needs Assessment Paper
Supporting Evidence
Cite at least five credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your implementation plan.
Additional Requirements
Proofread your executive summary before you submit it to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your analysis.
Relevance and importance of needs assessment
Although telehealth continues to experience rapid changes with new technology developments as well as changes in reimbursements and regulations, the value of a carefully planned and executed needs cannot be overemphasized. Despite the opportunities that telehealth offers and the changing technology landscape, the basic process to identify the population needs for telehealth and to develop the specific services that respond to the needs of that population is foundational for implementing telehealth technology. Health care is moving into a future that is increasingly suffused with technology whose importance is similarly increasing. Telehealth forms part of these technological advances through extending the reach of medical personnel and linking them with the patients (Greenhalgh et al., 2013). Besides that, electronic health records (EHR), mobile applications, social networking forums, and text and email have allowed for Big Data to be collected. The increased quantity and scope of medical data has been matched by technological advances that increasingly shift towards automation. As communication technologies become more ubiquitous, medical organizations may face less reimbursement and legal issues to navigate, thus having to expend less effort in convincing medical personnel and patients to be early adopters of telehealth technology. Even so, the many health technology choices and increasing costs demand that the pressing needs of providers and patients be assessed and prioritized with possible solution presented as an essential function for telehealth adoption (Lubberding et al., 2015; Olde-Rikkert, Long & Philp, 2013). Technology Needs Assessment Paper
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Key nursing care issue that telehealth addresses
The shortage of medical personnel in America is a source of concern, particularly in rural and distant communities. Of specific concern is how to deliver timely, affordable and quality medical care to the underserved communities within a health care system that is already overburdened by the lack of providers. Rural and distant community settings present uniquely dynamic barriers to health care access for the whole community who include patients, family members and care givers. These barriers include the lack of providers and medical facilities, limited transportation services, educational limitations, poor health, and cultural issues. These communities are underserved as they lack adequate provider coverage from nurses and other medical professionals. The medical personnel shortage reduces access to health care and overloads the available medical services (Schweickert & Rutledge, 2020). Besides that, medical personnel confront barriers and difficulties in rural and distant communities to include limited professional support and networking. Nurse personnel, notably advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) are well positioned respond to the issue of provider shortage by providing health care to these underserved communities. In order to do so, it is important for nurse personnel have access to and master telehealth as a technological tool necessary to advance health. Telehealth assists nurse personnel (and other medical professionals) in overcoming the barriers and difficulties by offering remote access to the community. Additionally, telehealth improves patient self-management, reduces costs of care, promotes continuity of care, and improves overall patient outcomes (Kaakinen et al., 2018).
Safety requirements and regulatory considerations for telehealth
Telehealth presents an opportunity for nurse personnel to remotely delivery health care to patients. In fact, access to primacy care in rural and distant communities is a key driver for telehealth. Still, the adoption of the technology is influenced by safety requirements and regulatory considerations. Firstly, seeking reimbursement is an important regulatory and legislative initiative. Federal programs such as Medicare offer coverage for a range of telehealth services offered in rural areas. These programs recognize telehealth as a tool for meeting the federal mandate to promote quality care, economy and efficiency for their beneficiaries. These restrictions are limited to rural areas thus acting as an incentive for medical facilities to implement telehealth for rural and distant communities. Even private health insurers are providing reimbursement for telehealth services, using models such as fee-for-service, fee-per-member/month, or mixed models (AAPC, 2020). Secondly, licensure for telehealth services presents a concern, especially if the provider is in a different state from the patient with the two state having different licensure requirements. This would present a regulatory concern as the service must be licensed before it can operate within a state. This implies that licensure will be sought in every state in which the facility will provider telemedicine services. Thirdly, many of the telemedicine technology developers lack health care training, and some of them fail to involve medical personnel when developing and implementing the technology. The result is a technology that presents patient safety concerns. This concern will be addressed by reducing social and cultural risk through modifying the technology for patient literacy levels, integrating the technology as part of regular workflow for clinicians, fully disclosing the associated risks to users prior to enrolment, and evaluating the technology for safety before implementation (AAPC, 2020). Technology Needs Assessment Paper
Patient confidentiality and privacy protections that must be addressed
Telehealth involves the use of telecommunication technologies that collect and transmit sensitive health information. The technology presents some potential patient confidentiality and privacy concerns. The technology involves the use of sensors that interface with the patient to record and report health data. However, these sensors can inadvertently collect and transmit information on household activities or interactions between the family members. In addition, routine transmissions from the sensors can be parties other than the health care provider. These are situations that are beyond what the patient reasonably expected even when giving consent for the sensors to be imbedded/implanted. These concerns will be addressed through privacy controls that include allowing patients to access and request corrections on the information collected by the sensors, setting limitations on the information collection, disclosure and use, and giving patients reasonable opportunities to make choices about their health information (Gogia, 2019).
Besides the mentioned privacy risks, the technology presents some potential security risks. Some of the threats include distributing untrusted technology, unauthorized access to functionality of associated devices, and breach of confidentiality during collection and transmission of sensitive data. In addition, some of the sensors can be hacked and reprogrammed to harm the patient, such as insulin pumps. Also, the collected information can be hacked and used in identify theft. These concerns will be addressed through security controls that include data encryption, authenticating devices, and only using trusted technology (Khandpur, 2017).
Potential impacts on internal and external stakeholders
The stakeholders are the entities that are integrally involved in the telehealth technology and would be substantially affected by its adoption. The major stakeholders are the health care organization, telehealth developers and marketers, medical personnel, patients, and government. Firstly, the health care organization will be affected through a need to invest in the telehealth technology. The investment will allow the organization to serve a larger number of patients as time and distance will no longer be a concern. This is likely to increase earnings. However, the technology presents some legal concerns, particularly with regards to potential for suits in case the technology fails or manipulated by unauthorized third parties. Secondly, telehealth developers and marketers are impacted because the use of the technology by the organization translates into higher earnings for them. They have invested in telehealth technology and expect returns when medical organizations purchase and use the technology. Thirdly, medical personnel are impacted because their key role is to ensure that patients receive adequate health care. Telehealth would enhance care outcomes by increasing interactions between medical personnel and patients. However, the technology is likely to disrupt work structures and primary care delivery as well as increase stress levels from having to learn and apply new technology. Fourthly, patients are impacted through improving their quality of life and peace of mind, reducing visits to medical facilities and admissions, and saving on travel costs and time. Finally, the government is impacted through a need to police the technology adoption to ensure conformity with the relevant legislation and use expectations (Schweickert & Rutledge, 2020). Technology Needs Assessment Paper
References
AAPC (2020). Telemedicine & Telehealth Reference Guide: A Comprehensive Resource to Master Telemedicine Coding, Compliance, and Reimbursement. Author.
Gogia, S. (2019). Fundamentals of Telemedicine and Telehealth. Elsevier Science.
Greenhalgh, T., Wherton, J., Sugarhood, P., Hinder, S., Procter, R., & Stones, R. (2013). What matters to older people with assisted living needs? A phenomenological analysis of the use and non-use of telehealth and telecare. Social Science and Medicine, 93, 86–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.05.036
Kaakinen, J., Coehlo, D., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2018). Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice, and Research (6th ed.). F.A. Davis Company.
Khandpur, R. (2017). Telemedicine Technology and Applications (mHealth, TeleHealth and eHealth). PHI Learning Private Limited.
Lubberding, S., van Uden-Kraan, C., Te Velde, E., Cuijpers, P., Leemans, C., & Verdonck-de Leeuw, I. (2015). Improving access to supportive cancer care through an eHealth application: a qualitative needs assessment among cancer survivors. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24(9-10), 1367-1379. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12753
Olde-Rikkert, M., Long, J., & Philp, I. (2013). Development and evidence base of a new efficient assessment instrument for international use by nurses in community settings with older people. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 50(9), 1180-1183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2012.08.007
Schweickert, P. & Rutledge, C. (2020). Telehealth Essentials for Advanced Practice Nursing. SLACK, Incorporated.
Technology Needs Assessment Paper
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