Home Monitoring Services to Patients
Introduction
The current care programs for patients with cancer who undergo chemotherapy require patients to attend the health care facility once for blood tests. Additionally, they are required to arrange for the process of treatment. If the white blood cells of the patient are not within specific standards or parameters, the subsequent chemotherapy cycle cannot commence, and a patient is forced to go back home. It leads to many cycles that waste resources, effort, and time both for the hospital and the patient. As a result, about 10 percent of chemotherapy cycles are often canceled because of the white blood cells irregularity. Therefore, the following article presents a qualitative research study that looks at a particular qualitative peer-reviewed research article to establish its contribution regarding treatment of patients who have cancer.
Background of Research Study
The Clinical Problem that led to the Study
As presented by (Fletcher, Wiest, Halasyamani, Lin, Nelson, Kaufman & Schapira, 2008), the clinical and research problem that led to the study regards many cycles which patients who are suffering from cancer have to undergo as they seek treatment services in different health care facilities. For example, patients are offered several appointments as they go through the process of testing and treatment schedules once diagnosed with cancer. It results in many cycles that waste resources, effort, and delays treatment process from the time cancerous cells are detected. Delayed treatment process makes a patient spend a lot of money that would have been saved if the treatment commenced right at the detection stage. As asserted by (Fletcher et al., 2008), over a long period, delayed treatment has persisted without ever discovering efficient and enhanced methods that could facilitate medication process for those who have cancer.
The Significance of the Study
According to (Fletcher et al., 2008), the gap that needs to be implemented in the current health care programs regards the creation of a home-based treatment initiative. Therefore, (Fletcher et al., 2008) recommends the execution of home monitoring and treatment programs for patients who have cancer. It would support patients during chemotherapy and thus forms a quality improvement plan run that should be run by all health care organizations. It is a self-care program aimed at improving the quality of care offered to cancer patients, and it would result in the following health care benefits.
Firstly, implementing home monitoring and treatment programs will transform the way cancer patients are supported at home. For instance, (Fletcher et al., 2008) asserts that the program would recognize the desire of health care providers to remain optimally aware of the health of patients while recovering from chemotherapy at their residential places. If adverse effects are identified early on time, it can lead to potentially life-saving and timely interventions that can improve the quality of care given to the patients. Secondly, monitoring the status of the patients between their doses of chemotherapy will also be beneficial in reducing the risks of calling the patients in for treatment when they are insufficiently recovered from previous cycles.
Regular monitoring will greatly improve the quality of patient care, hospital efficiency, and patient quality of life. According to (Fletcher et al., 2008), the third benefit would come in the form of improving patient care and peace of mind. For many cancer patients, chemotherapy is a stressful time. Most significantly, their justifiable worries and concerns about their prognosis can make it extremely challenging for them to objectively give reliable feedback about all the crucial factors which relate to their current status of health. Home monitoring programs can effectively be designed to assist patients to collaborate with their hospital team regularly. Using the home monitoring approach, patients are likely to feel less isolated.
The Purpose of the Study -Home Monitoring Services to Patients
The purpose of the study is to improve the quality of patient’s life during chemotherapy and decrease the number of hospital visits needed by them (Fletcher et al., 2008). The authors indicated that it could easily be executed by piloting a creative and innovative remote monitoring service for the healthcare organization’s cancer patients. It is intended to determine their hemoglobin, white blood cells and self- reported sign at the convenience of their homes.
Research Questions answered by the Home Monitoring Services to Patients Study
Following the qualitative research study conducted by (Fletcher et al., 2008), in amid to find a reliable treatment process, the authors were guided by the following research questions;
What measures are worth implementing to reduce the cost of cancer treatment?
Are there efficient programs that can reduce several cycles made by patients as they seek medication? See APA when when writing bullet statements.
The above research questions raised by Fletcher et al., 2008 are consistent with research problem concerning many cycles which patients are suffering from cancer undergo. They probe various ways of resolving the agony that patients suffer as they seek medical attention.
Method of Research Study
The study was conducted using direct interviews aimed at addressing two significant aspects of patient care going through chemotherapy: adverse events and treatment schedule. The target audience for the study fell into three categories: cancer patients, families with cancer patients, and community centers providing care for cancer patients (Fletcher et al., 2008). Random sampling technique was applied to identify respondents. They included those directly and indirectly affected by cancer. The respondents greatly assisted in the entire public if one of their family members, friends, relatives and loved ones fall sick as a result of cancer (Fletcher et al., 2008).
Results of Research Study
In the study, it was revealed that large populations of cancer patients receive chemotherapy. For instance, about 11 percent of them experience complications that lead to being admitted urgently. Therefore, through home monitoring of the high-risk cancer patients, the health care facilities can move with swiftness to identify potential indications of these adverse occurrences (Fletcher et al., 2008). Additionally, there are already innovations such as Philips Minicare Home remote monitoring service. They give oncologists at the healthcare organization regular access to specific health assessment results such as temperature readings and white blood cell counts.
The burden of implementing this project is light and cost-effective. Firstly, any health facility that intends to implement the home monitoring program needs to procure Minicare Home system devices from any consumer electronics provider such as Philips. As indicated by (Fletcher et al., 2008) the Minicare Home system is easy to use and intuitive. The procured equipment from a selected organization can deliver the equipment required for home monitoring directly to their patients, which includes patient training in the comfort of their homes.
Home Monitoring Services to Patients Ethical Considerations
The study conducted by (Fletcher et al., 2008) was approved by a recognized institutional review board, and thus its findings are reliable for the actual implementation. Additionally, while conducting the study, the privacy of the respondents was observed. This way, the results highlighted above provide the true records that can be relied on for further studies.
Conclusion
Finally, if vital patient information can be relayed to the clinical team effectively, then home monitoring and treatment programs can be considered a success. Improved and quality care is another evaluation criterion that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. As a result, if patient cares regarding chemotherapy cycles are improved, home monitoring and treatment methods can be considered a successful initiative. This study is thorough in conducting home monitoring and treatment programs but will not be as helpful contributing resource in an inpatient, medical surgical floor.
References
Fletcher, K. E., Wiest, F. C., Halasyamani, L., Lin, J., Nelson, V., Kaufman, S. R., & Schapira, M. (2008). How do hospitalized patients feel about resident work hours, fatigue, and discontinuity of care? Journal of General Internal Medicine, 23(5), 623-8. doi: http://dx.doi.org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s11606-007-0384-0