Knowing, caring, and telehealth technology: "going the distance" in nursing practice

The use of technology in delivery of health care services is rapidly increasing, and more nurses are using telehealth to provide care by distance to persons with complex health challenges. The rapid uptake of telehealth modalities and dynamic evolution of technologies has outpaced the generation of empirical knowledge to support nursing practice in this emerging field, specifically in relation to how nurses come to know the person and engage in holistic care in a virtual environment. Knowing the person and nursing care have historically been associated with physical presence and close proximity in the nurse-client relationship, and the use of telehealth can limit the ways in which a nurse can observe the person, potentiate perceptions of distance, and lead to a reductionist perspective in care. The purpose of this article is to illuminate the dynamic and evolving nature of nursing practice in relation to the use of telehealth and to highlight gaps in nursing knowledge specific to knowing the person in a virtual environment. Such an understanding is necessary to inform future research and generate empirical evidence to support nurses in providing ethical, safe, effective, and holistic care by distance to persons through telehealth technology.