Impact of telehealth on clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure.

The purpose of this randomized field study was to determine the effects of telehomecare on hospitalization, emergency department (ED) use, mortality, and symptoms related to sodium and fluid intake, medication use, and physical activity. The sample consists of 284 patients with heart failure. The authors used logistic regression to study the effects of telehomecare on health services utilization and mortality and a general linear model to analyze changes in self-reported symptoms.

Home-based telehealth: a review and meta-analysis.

We conducted a systematic review to identify studies on the effect of home telehealth on clinical care outcomes. The search was restricted to peer-reviewed publications (published between 2001 and 2007) about studies conducted in home or residential settings. The search yielded 154 potential articles and dissertations.

Use of telehealth by older adults to manage heart failure.

Telehealth, a clinical information system that transmits data over ordinary telephone lines, is used by individuals in their homes to communicate electronically with health care providers. This study investigated the influence of telehealth on self-management of heart failure in a sample of older adults. We hypothesized that the use of telehealth facilitates patient confidence, with subsequent effects on patients' ability to manage their treatment regimen more effectively.

Baseline management practices at providers in better jobs better care.

High turnover and difficult recruitment of direct care workers are challenges for long-term care providers. This study reports the extent and variation of the use of management practices for direct care workers and their supervisors across four long-term care settings in the Better Jobs Better Care demonstration. Overall, there is limited use of direct care worker training, career advancement opportunities, and mentoring programs.

A framework for evaluating eHealth research.

Health care is in the midst of a consumer-oriented technology explosion. Individuals of all ages and backgrounds have discovered eHealth. But the challenges of implementing and evaluating eHealth are just beginning to surface, and, as technology changes, new challenges emerge.

Can organizational support for technology influence job satisfaction?

The relationship between organizational support for telemedicine and nurses' job satisfaction in home health agencies (HHAs) is investigated in this study. Drawing from the theory of perceived organizational support, we propose that HHAs that provide strong support for telemedicine will have higher nurse job satisfaction levels than those that do not. Primary data were collected from 29 HHAs and 917 nurses from 2004 to 2005.

Performance model for telehealth use in home health agencies.

Increasingly, home health agencies (HHAs) are considering the value of implementing telehealth technology. However, questions arise concerning how to manage and use this technology to benefit patients, nurses, and the agency. Performance models will be beneficial to managers and decision makers in the home health field by providing quantitative information for present and future planning of staff and technology usage in the HHA.

Polypharmacy and possible drug-drug interactions among diabetic patients receiving home health care services.

Objectives: In this study, we examined the drug regimens of diabetic patients receiving home health care services to measure the prevalence of polypharmacy and to assess the likelihood of drug-drug interactions, a consequence of polypharmacy.

Design: The sample consisted of 139 diabetic patients who received home health care services from one home health agency in a large mid-Atlantic city. The data were collected from March 1, 1998 to September 30, 1999.

Marketing telehealth to align with strategy.

Telehealth is a twenty-first century solution to an old problem-how to deliver quality health services with shrinking resources. Telehealth enables healthcare providers to interact with and monitor patients remotely, thus adding value to service delivery models. On occasion, telehealth can substitute for live encounters, saving time and resources.

Accountability framework for managing stakeholders of health programs.

Understanding the incentives of stakeholders and employing effective management practices with various stakeholder groups is essential for program sustainability. This paper offers a conceptual model that depicts four different types of stakeholder interests that are relevant to health service organizations. The study identified the major stakeholders of telehealth programs, compared the influence of stakeholders by organizational ownership and investigated the practices used to manage these stakeholders.

Racial and ethnic diversity and organizational behavior: a focused research agenda for health services management.

Initiatives to reduce racial and ethnic disparities are conceptualized as a three-legged stool. Public policy: to ensure a legal and regulatory environment designed to eliminate disparities in access and health status; clinical practice: to ensure patient satisfaction and loyalty and improve treatment outcomes through the cultural competence of clinicians; and organizational behavior: to ensure that leadership, staff, and the culture of the health services organization represents and values the communities they serve. Our review of the health services and general management literature published since 1990 reveals a paucity of research on organizational behavior.

Organizational strategy and diversity management: diversity-sensitive orientation as a moderating influence.

Empirical studies on diversity suggest that health care organizations have been slow to embrace diversity management. We propose that sensitivity to diversity, at the corporate level, moderates strategic decision making, which influences human resource management practices such as diversity initiatives. This study of 203 hospitals explored the relationships among organizational strategy, organizational sensitivity to diversity, and diversity management practices.

Quality management practices in telehealth programs: a stakeholder accountability framework.

Improved technologies, distances between providers and patients, and an emphasis on cost-containment have encouraged the use of telehealth as a method of service delivery. Despite the increased use of this technology, few studies have been conducted on management of telehealth programs. Research on quality management is essential for disseminating and generalizing information on best practices in telehealth programs.

Lessons learned from a telehomecare project.

This article provides an update on the results of the Telehomecare Project, a demonstration funded by the US Department of Commerce through its Technology Opportunity Program. The goal of the project was to demonstrate and evaluate the use of telephone-based information technology (IT) in the provision of home health services. This effort was described in the August, 1999 (vol.

Racial/ethnic diversity management and cultural competency: the case of Pennsylvania hospitals.

Major demographic trends are changing the face of America's labor pool, and healthcare managers increasingly face a scarcer and more diverse workforce. As a result, healthcare organizations (HCOs) must develop policies and practices aimed at recruiting, retaining, and managing a diverse workforce and must meet the demands of a more diverse patient population by providing culturally appropriate care and improving access to care for racial/ethnic minorities. Ultimately, the goal of managing diversity is to enhance workforce and customer satisfaction, to improve communication among members of the workforce, and to further improve organizational performance.

Teaching self-management of diabetes via telehomecare.

This study demonstrates that telehomecare is an effective way to improve patient education and self-management outcomes. The cost effectiveness of this technology makes it an attractive medium for reaching patients who require close monitoring, reinforced teaching, and reassurance. telehomecare can also support caregivers and connect socially isolated individuals to their care providers.