Educating APRN Students About Telehealth Credentialing, Licensing, and Billing

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Informatics
• Telehealth

Background:

• Advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) education must include telehealth facilitation and adoption.
• Key components include understanding practice requirements and effective billing procedures for telehealth services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the integration of telehealth credentialing, licensing, and billing into an existing APRN Role Practicum course.
• To assess the impact of this integration on student knowledge and perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Two cohorts of APRN students (n=129) in a Doctor of Nursing Practice curriculum participated.
• A pretest/posttest design assessed knowledge and perceptions of a prerecorded telehealth lecture.
• Optional module assessment questions were included in the posttest.

Main Results:

• Student knowledge regarding telehealth content significantly increased after the module.
• Overall student feedback on the integrated telehealth content was positive.
• Students perceived the information as relevant to their future APRN roles.

Conclusions:

• Telehealth content was successfully integrated into the APRN Role Practicum course.
• Students acquired essential knowledge of telehealth laws and regulations.
• The integration prepares APRN students for effective telehealth practice and billing.