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Nurses must be fully aware of how to maintain patient safety and confidentiality when providing health care via a virtual platform.
Necessity is said to be the mother of invention. This certainly proved to be the case when many health professionals had to change the way they worked at short notice, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Services that had previously been face to face had to be offered differently to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19. For many, this required a change to telehealth, which led to an increase in online or phone consultations. Some found this was an effective way to provide health services, and have reported that a number of clients have asked for this service to continue. It reduced the time and cost of attending appointments, including travel time. Telehealth can also help those living in isolated areas receive timely health care.
The underlying principle in deciding whether telehealth is appropriate is whether the care delivered will be of the same standard as if it were delivered face to face. An important factor to consider is whether an assessment is able to be completed to a professional standard^
Nursing assessments rely on...