Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Telehealth

Adoption of telehealth, in response to COVID-19, has been necessary for Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) providers, especially for nursing homes with COVID-19 units. Therefore, it is imperative that LTSS staff and providers are knowledgeable about telehealth principles and best practices in their respective settings. In addition, LTSS nurses need distance-based education to improve geriatric assessment and communication skills in order to provide assistance for telehealth visits.

Connecting Care Through Telehealth is an online course designed to inform and improve best practices when using telehealth and virtual services in LTSS settings. Informed by the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms framework, content is tailored for providers and care-teams, residents/patients, and families and caregivers within nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home health and hospice organizations. This course is hosted on the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center's (NRTRC) website, and consists of five modules:

• Module 1: Introduction to Telehealth and Virtual Services in Long-Term Services and Supports
• Module 2: Connectivity and Setting up a Telehealth Visit
• Module 3: Best Practices for Facilitaing a Successful Telehealth Visit
• Module 4: Monitoring Telehealth and Virtual Services in Quality Improvement Programs
• Module 5: Tele-Visits Tutorials for Patients/Residents, Families and Caregivers

In addition to resources (described below), course modules also include technology troubleshooting tips, communication etiquette, and tools that can be modified to the needs of each LTSS setting. To enroll in this course, click HERE.

Resources

Handouts:

• Telehealth Equipment and How Used 
• Checklist for SNFs and ALFs
• Checklist for Home Health and Hospice
• Checklist for Patients, Families and Caregivers
• Telehealth Guide for Patients, Families and Caregiver
• Steps to Resolve Problems Related to Telehealth Guide

Video Library:

• What is Telehealth
• Technical Set-Up in the Home 
• Telehealth Equipement 
• Telehealth Visit Set-Up 
• Pre Visit Preparation
• Reviewing the Checklist
• Best Practices During a Telehealth Visit
• Visit Preparation for a Successful Telehealth Visit
• Patient and Family Engagement in the Telehealth Process
• QAPI and Telehealth
• QAPI - Steps to Resolve a Process Issue

In addition to the online course, UGEC collaborated with Comagine Health on:

• A 3-Part Telehealth ECHO presentations, whose recordings can be found HERE,
• A LTSS Telehealth Toolkit, which can be found HERE, and
• A  Patient, Family and Caregiver Telehealth Guide, which can be found HERE.

In addition, Comagine Health hosted a webinar, Telehealth: A Promise for the Future?, with guest speakers Mei Kwong, JD, Kerry Palakanis, DNP, APRN and Trudy Bearden, PA-C, MPAS.  The recording for this webinar can be found HERE.

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These activities are supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number T1MHP39052 as part of an award totaling $90,625 with 0 percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.