Date of Graduation
Spring 5-17-2024
Document Type
Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
College/School
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Department/Program
Nursing
Program
Family Nurse Practitioner
First Advisor
Victoria Chaudhary, DNP, FNP-BC, CNL
Second Advisor
Jo Loomis, DNP, FNP-C, CHSE, CLC, ANLC, NCMP, CNL
Abstract
Background: Nearly one million individuals are affected with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the United States, and it was estimated the annual economic burden of multiple sclerosis in the U.S. at over $85.4 billion in 2022.
Problem: During the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of nurse-led patient education sessions has decreased due to the conversion of in-person clinic visits to telehealth visits. Despite the widespread use of telehealth for MS patients post-COVID-19 pandemic, limited data is available about the use of nurse-led telehealth visits with a standardized workflow.
Method: A quality improvement project was implemented at the MS clinic in Northern California, by developing, implementing, and evaluating the nurse-led telehealth visit with a standardized workflow. An educational presentation on the use of the nurse-led telehealth visit with a standardized workflow was provided to clinical staff in this MS clinic to improve their effectiveness and confidence level in utilizing and promoting nurse-led telehealth visits and to increase the number of referrals to nurse-led telehealth visit.
Intervention: The educational presentation session was held on January 13, 2023, during the MS clinic staff meeting. The Standardized Workflow for Nurse-Led Telehealth Visits Experience Survey that this author developed was used to collect the baseline data pre- and post-training to measure the project outcome.
Result: In total, eleven clinic staff in the MS clinic, including seven MS physicians, one NP, one RN, and two MAs, participated in the educational presentation about nurse-led telehealth visits with the standardized workflow. After the educational presentation, the knowledge base and confidence level of MS clinical staff in utilizing and promoting nurse-led telehealth was increased by 41.7%. Comparing the three months pre- and post- intervention, the number of nurse-led telehealth visits was increased by 220%.
Conclusion: The standardized workflow for nurse-led telehealth visits has been shown to improve the effectiveness and confidence of MS clinical staff in utilizing and promoting nurse-led telehealth visits, as well as increase the number of nurse-led telehealth visits in the MS clinic.
Recommended Citation
Kim, Eun Hye, "Nurse-led Telehealth Visits for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond" (2024). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects. 356.
https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp/356
