For this assessment, you are a presenter! You will create a 5-10-minute video using Kaltura or similar software. In the video: Propose your evidence-based care plan that you believe will improve the safety and outcomes of the patient in the Vila Health Remote Collaboration on Evidence-Based Care media scenario
Remote Collaboration and Evidence-Based Care
Hello. My name is Julia Kamer. In this video presentation, I will discuss evidence-based care and how it can support remote collaboration in an interdisciplinary care team. In the discussion, I will focus on the case of Caitlynn and propose an evidence-based care plan that Vila Health can adopt to improve the safety and care outcomes of the patient during the remote collaboration.
Firstly, let me introduce the patient case in my presentation. Caitlynn was admitted and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis following an interdisciplinary collaborative effort by physicians in the Valley City Regional Hospital pediatric unit for Pneumonia. After the hospital’s paediatrician confirmed the diagnosis, a multidisciplinary team was required to develop a care plan for Caitlynn and support the patient’s family during the treatment period. The health care professionals included the hospital’s paediatrician, the attending bedside nurse, a respiratory therapist, a social worker, and a home paediatrician. The team was to collaborate to implement the care plan designed for Caitlynn and her family.
However, the team identified various barriers that hindered the care delivery per the plan. Firstly, Caitlynn’s family lives in a rural area within an hour’s distance from the hospital. A study by Garchitorena et al. (2021) noted that geographic barriers are persistent regardless of the affordability and efficiency of the health systems. The remote location of the patient bars the efficiency of collaborative health teams. Another barrier identified that could impact the care plan’s success was the potential financial problems the family was facing.
Additionally, the team noted that the care plan required the family’s involvement in Caitlynn’s treatment process. However, the parents currently have marital issues and are not living together. They are also primarily working, which makes it hard for them to be readily available physically throughout the implementation of Caitlynn’s care plan.
The major issues identified affected the collaboration efforts towards achieving positive outcomes for Caitlynn and posed new concerns for the care plan. The primary problem is the geographical distance and the ability to care for the patient within remote settings. Research conducted by Smith et al. and published in the Journal of Rural Remote Health in 2019 noted that patients living in rural areas and those who had to travel for medical care did not adhere to their medications and had a higher risk of missing or delaying care reception.
For these reasons, I propose an evidence-based care plan that can support the collaboration of Caitlynn’s care team to deliver the necessary remote, safe, quality treatment and help her family. A telehealth cystic fibrosis care plan for Caitlynn is proposed. The plan is developed with a specific focus on the barriers identified in Caitlynn’s case. Other barriers besides the geographic barriers considered are the barriers identified by research by Huot et al. (writing in 2019), which include healthcare provider-related barriers, the patient’s culture and beliefs, and existing systemic factors that influence the delivery of care. Caitlynn’s telehealth-based remote care plan will include using HIPAA-compliant telehealth technologies to support communication, real-time patient monitoring, and health information sharing.
Much evidence is available both in the literature and from the review of the events from the moment Caitlynn was admitted and diagnosed. A care plan that influenced the decisions on the evidence-based care plan was developed. The conclusions were based on how the proposed care plan would help overcome the barriers for the team to collaborate remotely and reduce the cost of delivering the care, such as travelling expenses, marital issues in the family, and the ability to monitor the patient continuously. Technology helped overcome most of the barriers to remote collaboration and supported the progression of Caitlynn’s care plan. For instance, when Caitlynn’s chest physiotherapist at the clinic in McHenry was worried about whether she was providing the correct care, Virginia and Rebecca, the hospital’s respiratory therapists, called her via Skype, talked to her, and answered her questions remotely. The healthcare professionals also spoke to and educated Caitlynn’s parents on her health condition and care plans over Skype. Skype helped deliver collaborative care and educate Caitlynn’s parents remotely.
Research on the practical application of telehealth also provided evidence of the applicability of such technologies to overcome barriers in the delivery of collaborative healthcare services. For instance, Kulkarni’s study, published i