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Summary FINAL Position Paper.docx UCSP 615 Telehealth in the Healthcare Industry University of Maryland Global Campus UCSP 615 Introduction With the increased restrictions set in place by local and national governments throughout the United States because $7.49   Add to cart

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Summary FINAL Position Paper.docx UCSP 615 Telehealth in the Healthcare Industry University of Maryland Global Campus UCSP 615 Introduction With the increased restrictions set in place by local and national governments throughout the United States because

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FINAL Position P UCSP 615 Telehealth in the Healthcare Industry University of Maryland Global Campus UCSP 615 Introduction With the increased restrictions set in place by local and national governments throughout the United States because of COVID-19, telehealth (also referred to as telemed...

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  • May 18, 2021
  • 5
  • 2020/2021
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UCSP 615
Telehealth in the Healthcare Industry

University of Maryland Global Campus

UCSP 615




Introduction

With the increased restrictions set in place by local and national governments throughout

the United States because of COVID-19, telehealth (also referred to as telemedicine, virtual

healthcare, etc.) has become a popular and effective way for patients to see their doctors. Even

at the beginning of the pandemic, the increase in telehealth visits was noticeable across the

industry. Not only do telehealth visits decrease both the patient and doctor’s exposure to the

virus, it allows for a level of convenience that is attractive to both parties. Although incredibly

convenient, the technology behind these virtual visits does present a security challenge from a

cybersecurity perspective. Balancing convenience and security has always been a difficult

problem to solve. Even so, telehealth is a convenient, accessible, and budget-friendly means for

the average patient to receive routine healthcare and cybersecurity should not be a deterrent from

such a cutting edge aspect of medicine.

Discussion

As far back as 2013, telemedicine accounted for almost ¼ of the market share in clinical

healthcare information technologies; worth almost $3.5 billion (www.prweb.com, 2015). With

almost 90% of US households having an internet connection as of 2019 (Johnson, 2021), the

ability to open one’s laptop or smart phone and see your doctor “face-to-face" is an increasingly

convenient way for Americans to visit their doctors. Undoubtedly, this figure is sure to rise

given the recent necessity of telehealth during the COVID 19 pandemic.

, In addition to the physical convenience, one of the biggest advantages to telehealth is the

expanded access to healthcare to patients who would otherwise be restricted. Whether it is

financial, medical, or physical barriers, telehealth helps breakdown these barriers. Costs

associated with telehealth visits are significantly less than the costs of traditional in-office visits

thus opening the doors to healthcare to those who may not have been able to afford it.

Additionally, CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

advocates telehealth in order to improve the health of Americans living in rural areas to help

improve the health of rural residents (www.cdc.gov). These patients now have access specialists

and second opinions where previously, they may have avoided a long drive, or an excessive

specialty cost from an out of network provider (Elmer, 2020).

As more people turn to the internet for the increased convenience of virtual medicine, the

risk of private data being compromised increases. The key to this problem is not simple; it is

evolving all the time. “Solutions that are reactive to problems within the current infrastructure

will likely have little long term impact toward reducing cybersecurity vulnerabilities because

they do not address the underlying system challenges” (Farringer & Blum, 2019). What this

means is cybersecurity is always one step behind. In order for the healthcare industry to

overcome this basic problem, emphasis must be placed on four basic ideas: regular updates,

training, encryption, and data backup (Geis, 2017). Diligence in these areas will help alleviate

cybercriminal activities, but the threat of data breaches will never be fully eliminated. The best

course of action is to constantly assess the internal practices of your organization, and be sure to

train all users about the importance of updating and backing up information.

While the security aspects of telehealth are important, the challenge to affording and

accessing medical help is more important. Unlike the general population, where almost 90% of

households have internet access, more than 41% of Medicare beneficiaries do not have internet

or computer access at home (George, 2020). At this point, understanding that a portion of the

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