Telemedicin til patienter med hjertesvigt – hvordan oplever patienter og sygeplejersker forløb med telemedicin?

Resumé
Baggrund.
Digitale løsninger er stærkt på vej frem i sundhedsvæsenet, herunder telemedicinske forløb. For at kunne optimere telemedicinske forløb til gavn for patienterne er der brug for at undersøge, hvordan henholdsvis patienter og sygeplejersker oplever telemedicinske forløb.
Artiklen præsenterer hovedtematikkerne, der kendetegner henholdsvis patienters og sygeplejerskers oplevelser af telemedicinske forløb i en hjertesvigtsklinik.
Metode.
Patienternes oplevelser er undersøgt gennem individuelle semistrukturerede interviews, mens sygeplejerskernes oplevelser er undersøgt via et fokusgruppeinterview. Analyserne er foretaget med inspiration fra Braun & Clarke.
Resultater.
Fire temaer blev identificeret ud fra patienternes oplevelser:
1. Større fleksibilitet i hverdagen
2. Bedre autonomi
3. Individuelle IT-kompetencer
4. Individuelle præferencer.
Derudover tre temaer ud fra sygeplejerskernes oplevelser:
1. Stort potentiale
2. Sygeplejerskens kompetencer
3: Den individuelle patient.

Konklusion.
Både patienter og sygeplejersker oplever, at telemedicin har et stort potentiale, men også at der er brug for fleksible løsninger for at imødekomme patienters individuelle behov og kompetencer.
Implikationer for Kliniske praksis
Der er brug for fleksible og individuelle løsninger i anvendelsen af telemedicin således at flest mulige patienter får gavn af det. Sygeplejersker har brug for oplæring og opbakning fra ledelse og IT-kyndige da det er en ny måde at yde sygepleje på.

English abstract

Telemedicine for patients with heart failure – how do patients and nurses experience telemedicine pathways?

“When my children don’t have time to help me, I just call my 92‑year‑old friend – she’s always on top of that computer stuff.”

Background
Digital solutions, including telemedicine programmes, are rapidly gaining ground in healthcare. To optimise telemedicine pathways for the benefit of patients, it is important to explore how patients and nurses respectively experience these programmes in practice. This article presents the main themes that characterise patients’ and nurses’ experiences of telemedicine in a heart failure clinic.
Method
Patients’ experiences were explored through individual semi‑structured interviews, while nurses’ experiences were investigated in a focus group interview. The analyses were conducted using thematic analysis inspired by Braun and Clarke.
Results
Four themes were identified from the patient interviews: 1) Increased flexibility in everyday life, 2) Enhanced autonomy, 3) Individual IT competencies and 4) Individual preferences. Three themes emerged from the nurses’ experiences: 1) Great potential, 2) The nurse’s competencies and 3) The individual patient.
Conclusion
Both patients and nurses experience telemedicine as having great potential, but they also point to the need for flexible solutions that can accommodate patients’ individual needs and competencies.
Implications for clinical practice
Flexible and individualised approaches to telemedicine are needed to ensure that as many patients as possible can benefit. Nurses require training and support from management and IT specialists, as telemedicine represents a new way of delivering nursing care.

Keywords: Telemedicine, heart failure, patient experiences, nurse experiences, digital health, thematic analysis.