About 75 percent of practicing bedside nurses with telemedicine experience support telemedicine use, but raise issues over privacy which may alter the widespread implementation of the technology, according to a study in American Journal of Critical Care.
The study surveyed 179 nurses in three critical care units in two university-affiliated academic hospitals. All the nurses surveyed use telemedicine intensivists during their daily work. Key findings from the survey include:
• 72 percent of nurses thought that telemedicine increases patients' survival.
• 47 percent of nurses thought that telemedicine prevents medical errors.
The report addresses nurses' concerns over privacy issues because using telemedicine increases the amount of staff involved with a patient's care. Additionally, there is more ease to incorporating telemedicine into care when nurses are familiar with the physician. The familiarity leads the nurses to be more receptive of telemedicine interventions in patient care.
The study surveyed 179 nurses in three critical care units in two university-affiliated academic hospitals. All the nurses surveyed use telemedicine intensivists during their daily work. Key findings from the survey include:
• 72 percent of nurses thought that telemedicine increases patients' survival.
• 47 percent of nurses thought that telemedicine prevents medical errors.
The report addresses nurses' concerns over privacy issues because using telemedicine increases the amount of staff involved with a patient's care. Additionally, there is more ease to incorporating telemedicine into care when nurses are familiar with the physician. The familiarity leads the nurses to be more receptive of telemedicine interventions in patient care.
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