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The ATA Home Telehealth and Remote Monitoring SIG Toolkit Task Force, a group of clinicians and academicians involved with delivering or overseeing the delivery of home telehealth services, has developed this toolkit to provide guidelines and procedures for the design and delivery of home telehealth services for the benefit of patients, their families, and clinicians.
These guidelines and procedures apply to:
- Establishing a new home telehealth program
- Revising or reviewing an existing program
Home telehealth can move the locus of care for patients with chronic diseases from hospitals into the home, improving quality of life and patient satisfaction, while decreasing use of expensive services such as inpatient stays and emergency room visits. Home telehealth may be particularly beneficial for a variety of at-risk populations such as the frail elderly who have mobility limitations and diminished access to transportation. These technology applications allow home care services to include geographically distant locations where access to care is limited. Home care agencies can now provide a level of care to these distant areas without the issue of nursing staff coverage.
Home telehealth is neither a single health care intervention nor a simple vehicle to facilitate care delivery. Instead it is a “package of care” that can involve a range of health care interventions whose delivery is mediated via a number of different innovative information technologies.
Use of Toolkit
Anyone who wants to provide or is already providing home telehealth services can use this toolkit. The toolkit content includes common requirements that should be considered when providing home telehealth services. Examples of existing policies, procedures, protocols, and other helpful forms and information are provided from successful home telehealth programs to supplement these requirements.