All three branches of government in the United States influence healthcare decisions. Each branch is responsible for specific aspects of healthcare policies and regulations. The legislative branch determines the services or programs the government will pay for and for which members of the population. The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting laws related to healthcare. The executive, also known as the administrative branch, develops rules and regulations that further interpret the laws and oversees the implementation of various health care programs. (Jacox, 1997). Healthcare is far different from what it used to be many years ago. Healthcare has changed in both good ways, such as advances in technology and medicine. However, it
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These provisions include areas such as reimbursement for patients receiving Medicare benefits. Services such as store and forward delivered services are prohibited and are not reimbursed by Medicare. Current services in which are eligible for reimbursement are identified by Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. Other provisions included in the telehealth policy include issues regarding HIPPA, health information technology, and legal barriers. Some of the laws established in the state of South Carolina regarding telehealth include the use of live video for office or other outpatient visits, inpatient consultation, psychotherapy, pharmacologic management, neurobehavioral status examinations, and using telehealth for remote patient monitoring (Telehealth Policy, …show more content…
It also has many benefits such as being able to potentially save $5 billion from video office visits compare to face-to-face visits. However, there are ways in which telehealth can negatively impact the role of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare staff (Kvedar, 2014). Many of the issues concerning the use of telehealth is overprescribing patients who are seen via e-visits vs. in-person office visits. Other issues concerning telehealth services is the lack of access to a patient’s medical record, inability to document e-visits, no follow up care, HIPAA, as well as the quality of care the patient is receiving. (Quashie, 2014). Telehealth can hinder the nurse from developing an effective nurse patient relationship. Ineffective nurse-patient relationships can potentially decrease the patient’s adherence to their treatment plan. By hindering this relationship with the patient, it can decrease the quality of care each patient receives. Nurses who rely on telehealth to provide care for patient can potentially pose safety issues for the patient. For example, technology has been not to not be quite accurate, or even malfunctions. Monitoring vital signs on a patient via remote monitoring can malfunction or stop working properly. If the nurse is not aware of malfunctions in the equipment he or she could be documenting inaccurate values. Documenting inaccurate values could have a negative impact
These provisions include areas such as reimbursement for patients receiving Medicare benefits. Services such as store and forward delivered services are prohibited and are not reimbursed by Medicare. Current services in which are eligible for reimbursement are identified by Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. Other provisions included in the telehealth policy include issues regarding HIPPA, health information technology, and legal barriers. Some of the laws established in the state of South Carolina regarding telehealth include the use of live video for office or other outpatient visits, inpatient consultation, psychotherapy, pharmacologic management, neurobehavioral status examinations, and using telehealth for remote patient monitoring (Telehealth Policy, …show more content…
It also has many benefits such as being able to potentially save $5 billion from video office visits compare to face-to-face visits. However, there are ways in which telehealth can negatively impact the role of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare staff (Kvedar, 2014). Many of the issues concerning the use of telehealth is overprescribing patients who are seen via e-visits vs. in-person office visits. Other issues concerning telehealth services is the lack of access to a patient’s medical record, inability to document e-visits, no follow up care, HIPAA, as well as the quality of care the patient is receiving. (Quashie, 2014). Telehealth can hinder the nurse from developing an effective nurse patient relationship. Ineffective nurse-patient relationships can potentially decrease the patient’s adherence to their treatment plan. By hindering this relationship with the patient, it can decrease the quality of care each patient receives. Nurses who rely on telehealth to provide care for patient can potentially pose safety issues for the patient. For example, technology has been not to not be quite accurate, or even malfunctions. Monitoring vital signs on a patient via remote monitoring can malfunction or stop working properly. If the nurse is not aware of malfunctions in the equipment he or she could be documenting inaccurate values. Documenting inaccurate values could have a negative impact