What exactly is telehealth? Telehealth is simply defined as when technology meets the various aspects of healthcare, including health information, monitoring, and prevention. With the increased need to access healthcare remotely, a new nursing niche has emerged – the remote telehealth nurse. Telehealth nursing is when nurses can use digital platforms, such as phone, video, or online, to communicate with patients and provide care. But what are the realities behind the rise in telehealth nursing, and what do these nurses actually do?
The Evolution of Nursing in the Digital Age
While telehealth existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, these years rapidly accelerated the transition from in-person to virtual healthcare, forcing healthcare systems to expand their digital footprints. Now, virtual healthcare is commonplace and provided by a variety of providers and servicers.
Telehealth nurses, who may be registered nurses (RNs) or advanced practice nurses (APRNs), deliver patient care virtually, whether over the phone, using video conferencing, or online messaging. These nurses don’t just answer basic questions via these digital platforms but also provide patient education and holistic care.
The Importance of Telehealth Nurses
The role of the remote telehealth nurse helps to bridge gaps in healthcare, particularly for patients who face barriers to access traditional healthcare such as challenges with transportation, location (e.g., living in a rural or underserved area), or financial or time restraints. Remote nursing contributes to more equitable healthcare, allowing more patients to receive the care that they need.
Find Job Opportunities Near You
Explore jobs and connect with recruiters from leading healthcare organizations.
Core Responsibilities of a Remote Telehealth Nurse
The exact role of a remote telehealth nurse varies between different employers and specialties, but most of these nurses share these core responsibilities:
- Triage and Assessment
Telehealth nurses are often the first point of contact for a patient. As is the case with in-person care, the nurses’ role is to conduct a patient assessment. Telehealth nurses can do this remotely by asking guided questions and discussing symptoms. The nurse is then able to triage the patient appropriately. This could be educational information, scheduling another visit (either in-person or virtual) with themselves or another provider, or a referral to seek urgent care.
- Chronic Disease Management
Telehealth nurses often support patients who suffer from chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, or heart disease. The nurses follow up on the patient’s treatment plans, offer necessary education on their disease process, and help patients understand signs and symptoms that may require an in-person, or urgent, visit.
- Education and Reconciliation
Education is a cornerstone of nursing. Telehealth provides a fantastic opportunity to educate patients on medications, disease processes, side effects, and more. This allows faster responses to the patient without the cost or necessary travel to be seen in person.
- Post-Discharge Follow-Up
Most patients are encouraged to be seen by their provider after hospitalizations or surgeries. Remote telehealth nurses can check in virtually to monitor the patient’s recovery, answer any questions, and potentially notice complications early. This can reduce the chance of readmissions and possible complications.
- Mental Health/Psychiatric Care
Mental health and psychiatric care is now often provided via virtual channels. Psychiatric nurse practitioners, for instance, often care for their patients in a telehealth role. Other behavioral health support includes depression, anxiety, or substance use disorder.
- Care Coordination
One of the main roles of the telehealth nurse is to coordinate a patient’s care among a variety of providers. This includes physicians, specialists, home health agencies, and pharmacies.
Find Job Opportunities Near You
Explore jobs and connect with recruiters from leading healthcare organizations.
Skills Needed for Telehealth Nurses
Telehealth nursing is a symbiotic relationship between communication, technology, and critical thinking.
- Communication Skills: Telehealth nurses must rely heavily on their communication skills when seeing patients virtually. This includes asking the right questions, active listening, and communicating clearly to the patient.
- Technology Skills: Telehealth technology is ever-changing. Telehealth nurses must be tech-savvy and comfortable learning new tools, systems, software, or applications to deliver effective care. Types of technology used may include electronic health records (EHRs), video platforms, or secure messaging apps.
- Critical-Thinking Skills: Telehealth nurses must be able to correctly interpret data and assess patient signs and symptoms, using clinical algorithms, protocols, or guidelines to deliver an accurate treatment plan. They must also know when to collaborate with other healthcare professionals, like a specialist or referral to the hospital.
Benefits and Challenges of Working as a Remote Telehealth Nurse
Working as a telehealth nurse offers a range of advantages:
- Flexible Work Environment: Nothing beats working from home, as long as you have a private and undisturbed area to maintain HIPAA compliance.
- Work-Life Balance: Eliminating the daily commute and working from home helps provide a better work-life balance. Your lunch break can now be time to get things done around the house, such as prepping dinner for the evening, doing laundry, or even relaxing and taking a nap!
- Improved Job Satisfaction: By reducing the workload of the telehealth nurse and allowing more flexibility in their schedules, you inherently improve overall job satisfaction, which leads to increased employee retention.
- Diverse Opportunities: Many different organizations hire telehealth nurses and as the demand continues to grow, so do these opportunities. Examples include insurance companies to telehealth startups.
- Better Health and Well-being: Remote positions improve overall health and well-being. How? With fewer physical demands and zero exposure to high-risk environments, your mind and body will thank you.
Of course, every role has its challenges.
- Technology Barriers: Not all patients have access to technology, or more likely, understand it.
- Virtual Examination: As this role can only be remote, telehealth nurses may have difficulty examining or assessing a patient virtually.
- Isolation: While working from home has benefits, it can sometimes be lonely not to have the camaraderie of an in-person team.
- Compliance and Privacy: All healthcare-related workspaces must be HIPAA-compliant, regardless of whether this workspace is physical, digital, or even a remote set-up. For the telehealth nurse, these include a private and secure area where you do your work, a secure internet connection, and knowledge of the company’s policies on storing, sharing, and disposing of health data.
Education and Skills Required
Telehealth nurses are typically not new grads, but seasoned nurses with a variety of in-person nursing experience. Other requirements include:
- An active and unencumbered RN license
- Strong communication and assessment skills
- Comfort with digital platforms
- A private HIPAA-compliant workspace.
While there are no telehealth nursing certification exams, telehealth nurses are often strongly recommended to obtain certification in ambulatory nursing to become Ambulatory Care Nurse-Board Certified (AMB-BC™). Other telehealth resources are available through the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing.
Who Hires Telehealth Nurses?
Many different types of organizations hire telehealth nurses, especially in this post-COVID age. Some examples include:
- Health Insurance Companies: Telehealth nurses are often hired to perform utilization review, case management, and patient education for insurers.
- Hospitals and Clinics: Common telehealth nurse positions in hospitals and clinics include case management, triage, and psychiatric care.
- Home Health and Hospice: Many home health and hospice companies are branching out to hire telehealth nurses. Examples include Amedisys,
- Telehealth Providers: In this digital age, more virtual healthcare companies, such as various telehealth providers, are launching. Examples include Teladoc Health, Lyra Health, and Carenet Health.
- Government and Military Programs: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the nation’s largest telehealth provider. Telehealth at the VA works to expand care at the local, regional, and national levels.
The role of remote telehealth nursing is poised to continue growing as more of the healthcare landscape embraces the digital age. Advances in AI, remote monitoring, and mobile health will expand the digital care that RNs and APRNs can provide.
Additionally, this process will become easier and more streamlined as more patients become comfortable with telemedicine. The role of the telehealth nurse is increasingly vital in today’s healthcare ecosystem. From managing chronic diseases to providing triage, these nurses are proving that quality care can be provided from behind a screen. Remote telehealth nursing is not a trend, but the future of healthcare.
Whether you are an experienced nurse looking for a change or a new grad seeking career options, remote telehealth nursing is a rewarding position that can change your and your patient’s future.
