Innovations in Palliative Care
Innovations in Palliative Care
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Innovations in Palliative Care
Palliative care involves treating people with severe health conditions, and this specialty seeks to reduce the symptoms through therapy. Chronic illnesses are associated with psychological stress to the patient, the family, and the caregivers. There have been innovations in palliative care that intend to improve life quality, reducing suffering among people with serious illness (Back et al., 2009). Modern palliative care innovations embrace telehealth to allow physicians and patients to consult on different health matters while away from the hospital. Telehealth is an innovation that has been activated by technology to enhance palliative care through remote caregiving techniques (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). Telehealth further improves communication patterns by providing instant responses, enhancing medical consultations, and quality care (Gilman & Stensland, 2013).
Notably, telehealth has provided dynamic medical solutions that make severe illness treatment more accessible and more effective. The palliative care innovation indicates effectiveness in the health sector that suggests the government's ability to increase its citizens' life expectancy. The palliative care system is created to provide detailed info on patients' progress and allows responses by the health providers in charge. Telehealth is an innovation of palliative care that has revolutionized healthcare in the country, and it has empowered stakeholders to address palliative care and other issues with minimal limitation (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). Some problems have emerged from telehealth use in providing palliative care, and addressing the barriers calls for in-depth research and investment to ensure preparedness and readiness to address society's health needs.
Palliative Population who will benefit from the Innovation
Improvement plans for palliative care are structured to address the needs of a specific segment in the market. The palliative care innovation beneficiaries include patients with long-term illnesses, caregivers, health providers, and society at large. The innovative structures will create new possibilities that will ensure that palliative patients access quality healthcare services timely. The caregivers will benefit from the caregiving guidelines provided and the systems that will conduct follow-up on their care. The family unit will enjoy the palliative care innovation as it will foresee the recovery of their ailing relatives and share a long life. The Innovation of palliative care will lengthen Americans' life expectancy, resulting in a more productive society. The healthcare system's preparedness guarantees a highly-qualified regime that is competent and reliable (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). Incidentally, preservation of human life is a primary concern in healthcare, and targeting the needs of the beneficiaries of palliative care will reflect on future generations. Providing palliative care through telehealth is a medical privilege as the program streamlines communication and enhances its contribution to wellness. The palliative care program organs work cohesively to provide appropriate medical care to palliative care patients. Digital apps further offer an essential tool to users for the enhancement of digital performance through effectiveness. Effective communication among the stakeholders has introduced value to high-quality medical and technological equipment.
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Factors that Contribute to Barriers in the Implementation of the Innovation
Several factors cause telehealth barriers, and the aspects require the parties in charge to come up with dynamic solutions. Firstly, the palliative care innovation program had faced management issues because some health outlets have not received telehealth supplies and lack materials to implement this Innovation. Further, telehealth has failed to achieve substantial results in providing adequate health services to its beneficiaries. Access to the palliative health program is limited in rural areas, and this denies the people living with severe illnesses in these areas from enjoying a streamlined healthcare program. Where telehealth is actively operational, the health organs have failed to create enough awareness to the communities, making the Innovation less effective. Provision of education on the health benefits of telehealth in rural areas can increase the effectiveness of the Innovation. Telehealth is designed to reduce on-site visits and cut down the expense of running physical clinics for palliative patients (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). The implementation plans should include proper mobilization of teams to broaden communication patterns and provide remedies to existing barriers.
Another factor that limits palliative care innovation is poor skills and resources. Palliative care innovation is necessary for the global health arena as countries such as the US lag behind in terms of staffing, skills, and payment structures. The present Corona Virus pandemic has posed severe challenges to the world's preparedness for disease management. The statistics on Corona Virus patients and deaths reveal the need for effective palliative care mechanisms that will overcome the present global challenges. Implementation of innovation strategies has been faced with numerous challenges due to varying health policies and ineffective distribution channels. The structures involved in implementing Palliative care innovation techniques are subject to the current healthcare goals and leadership patterns at the ground.
The presence of payment barriers hinders home caregivers from coordinating effectively with health providers remotely. The new palliative care program must include effective payment plans streamlined with hospital policies to ensure flawless palliative care plans from home (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). Palliative care is provided in hospitals and at home, and this calls for an organized structure to coordinate the treatment patterns and other issues related to the illness. The innovations further seek to introduce new staffing methods and training for officers in other specialties such as cancer to ensure overall effectiveness (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). The coordination in different health departments has challenged palliative care innovations' attempts to provide high-quality care in medical facilities and at home. Medical practitioners from various departments such as cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, and others have to apply common goals to ensure that they provide excellent palliative care to their patients without interruptions (Back et al., 2009).
Addressing staffing and training issues is a management issue that calls for coordination of all stakeholders in healthcare and consideration of their needs (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). The caregivers must familiarize themselves with telehealth's creative models by working together with community health providers to assist those with advanced health complications.
How The Innovations/Improvements Impact Palliative Patients
Telehealth has a variety of impacts on palliative patients, and they vary according to the usage and familiarity with the system. Telehealth thrives on reliable internet access to enable palliative patients and their caregivers to conduct medical procedures. The efficiency that telehealth has introduced to patients is unequaled as it has allowed remote access to consultation and other vital services related to palliative care (Back et al., 2009). Telehealth has empowered wellness through a timely and highly effective system. Telehealth innovation results from factual evidence regarding terminal illness patients as they are prone to stress and depression (Back et al., 2009). Patients with severe diseases endure physical complications that may worsen their health conditions (Thayyil & Cherumanalilm 2012). Palliative care innovations further reckon that providing care to terminally-ill patients calls for understanding and resilience to form reliable support systems for the patients.
Technological advancement is another benefit of palliative care innovation to individuals. Telehealth elevates technology and its ability to provide excellent healthcare services without on-site visits. Telehealth has impacted patients positively as it has increased their familiarity with computer programs. Telehealth is synonymous with IT, and Innovation has presented benefits such as computer education and data retrieval skills (Gilman & Stensland, 2013). The caregivers and patients are empowered to regularly interact with the health providers about all the existing medical conditions. The reduced on-site visits reduce the cost of movement for the patients and their caregivers(Back et al., 2009). Accessing the program remotely gives the parties confidence in the Innovation and its ability to promote wellness. The effectiveness of telehealth indicates the society's readiness to accommodate health concepts that are beneficial and highly innovative.
Another benefit of the palliative care program is that compatible areas have gone through complete installations and infrastructure to support the Innovation. These developments pave the way for higher designs that use similar mechanisms to increase service delivery. Telehealth in rural areas has updated the infrastructure and the lifestyles of the people living therein. The government has worked tirelessly towards providing excellent palliative care through communication and access to essential services (Back et al., 2009). Thus, telehealth has promoted vigorous community education programs that enable the community members to familiarize themselves with available health infrastructure and realities that will improve their lives.
Conclusion
Improved palliative care is necessary for enhancing the patient's care needs. Patients with chronic diseases require newly defined strategies like telehealth to address their growing social and physical needs. The palliative care innovations ensure that patients develop a connection to their social circles for a speedier recovery. Telehealth further encourages caregivers to facilitate social interactions to reduce loneliness and to counter-act their health conditions. Additionally, palliative care innovations seek to control stress among patients by encouraging positive social behavior among invalids to fight infections.
References
Back AL, Bauer-Wu SM, Rushton CH, Halifax J (December 2009). "Compassionate silence in the patient-clinician encounter: a contemplative approach." Journal of Palliative Medicine. 12 (12): 1113–7. doi:10.1089/jpm.2009.0175. PMC 2939848. PMID 19698026.
Gilman M, Stensland J (2013). "Telehealth and Medicare: payment policy, current use, and prospects for growth." Medicare & Medicaid Research Review. 3 (4): E1–E17. doi:10.5600/mmrr.003.04.a04.
Thayyil J, Cherumanalil JM (September 2012). "Assessment of the status of patients receiving palliative home care and services provided in rural areas." Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 18. 18 (3): 213–8. doi:10.4103/0973-1075.105693.
