Biography
Biography: Lori M. Metzger
Abstract
The telehealth in home health study aimed to determine patient’s satisfaction with technology in home health care as the population continues to age in the presence of chronic disease. Understanding patient’s perceptions regarding technologies in home care allows the practitioner to further understand one’s health belief and facilitate cues to changes in health behaviors towards management of chronic disease. The results of this study provide strength for the use of telehealth in home care and potentially contribute to the demand for reimbursement of telehealth.
Patient satisfaction was examined in older adult patient’s with heart failure in home health care. Eighty-six participants ranging in ages 59-99 with a mean age of 80.7 (sd = 8.9), voluntarily completed a questionnaire (HCSSI-R) of fifteen items. A comparison was made between and telehealth, home health services and usual home health care. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), frequency distributions and descriptive statistics were completed to answer the research question. A statistically significant difference was found indicating that the telehealth, home health group was more satisfied. When controlling for the demographic information about age, gender, prior home health services and living alone status, there was no significant impact on the patient satisfaction score.
It has been proven that telehealth in home care is cost-effective and produces favorable clinical outcomes in the management of chronic disease (Dansky, Vasey & Bowles, 2008; Hoban, Fedor, Reeder & Chernick, 2013). This study concludes that telehealth in home health care provides for a highly satisfied home health client managing chronic disease.