Fronczek presents telehealth research at November roundtable event
Ann Fronczek, MS ’99, assistant professor at Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing, discussed her research in nursing and telehealth technologies during a research roundtable held Nov. 8.
Fronczek runs the University’s Southern Tier Telehealth Center in conjunction with Professor Mohammad Khasawneh of Binghamton’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science. The center is located at the University’s Innovative Technologies Complex and features a collaboration classroom and high-definition video conferencing capability. Additional center resources include telemedicine carts with diagnostic peripherals, a telepresence robot, sensor technology, and smart and wearable devices.
Enhancing telehealth education in nursing is the focus of Fronczek’s research. The goal of her work is to explore nursing’s potential influences on patient outcomes in telehealth and mobile health environments as well as to determine what nursing students need to know about telehealth to be well-prepared graduates.
Fronczek said this topic is increasingly important as the use of technology in healthcare continues to grow. “We need to look forward as to how we prepare nurses and advance practice nurses in the area of telehealth,” she said.
Other key points Fronczek made are that the way in which nursing care is being provided continues to change at a quick pace and that nurses will be at the forefront of examining the outcomes of telehealth practice and the emerging ethical and healthcare policy issues that may result.
She further pointed out that nurse-led interventions using telehealth technology and applications to help people meet their health goals are still being developed. In addition, interdisciplinary and interprofessional teams may be needed to facilitate positive health outcomes.
Part of the programming offered by the Decker School of Nursing’s Kresge Center for Nursing Research roundtable events bring Decker’s faculty and student researchers together to share their work, address issues and brainstorm new ideas. Typically, two or three roundtables are held each semester.
Attending the Nov. 8 roundtable were these Decker faculty and staff: Nannette Cowen, Jean Dorak, Pam Stewart Fahs, Yvonne Johnston, Mario Ortiz, Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, Melissa Sutherland, Meg White and Sarah Yurka. Also present were graduate assistants Edwin-Nikko Kabigting and Wendy Gallagher.