The Implementation and Evaluation of a Rheumatology Clinical Nurse Consultant Telehealth Clinic

The care of rheumatology patients can be complex, often requiring medications that need close monitoring and education to ensure best and safe outcomes.

There is often minimal time within the busy clinical outpatient setting to holistically review the patient's needs.

The rheumatology clinical nurse consultant telehealth service was introduced to achieve better patient outcomes and provide a comprehensive approach to the delivery of care to any individual anywhere. Ensuring that patients have a greater understanding of their rheumatological condition can lead to patient empowerment and better outcomes.

The implementation of the clinic via telehealth was to provide an alternative way to receive specialist nursing care. This also helps to reduce petrol and parking costs as well as having positive environmental implications. It also means that patients can receive holistic care wherever they may live and is particularly useful for those living in rural and remote areas. By offering telehealth, patients have less time off work which leads to more work productivity and time spent with family. It also means that the interval between patients being reviewed by the clinician can be increased as the telehealth service allows for interim follow up. This therefore allows for more patients to be reviewed in clinic by the nurse practitioner and other clinicians.