Telehealth nursing has proven to be an important component of the health care crisis solution during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the arrival of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders instituted across the country, nurses and nurse practitioners have relied on telemedicine as a way to remain engaged with their patients. This form of real-time, audio-video communication allows nurses and nurse practitioners and patients to connect from different locations, bringing direct patient health care into the home. Health care systems have had to adjust the way they triage, evaluate, and care for patients using methods that do not rely on in-person services. An area of concern in the implementation of telehealth is the risk of depersonalization in the clinician–patient relationship due to the lack of human contact and ability to pick up on nonverbal cues.
Discuss what you as an NP will do to maintain the clinician–patient relationship and pick up on nonverbal cues when using telehealth to see your patients. What other challenges do you anticipate?