After navigating my way through the web I found an interesting website that illustrated some of the most recent technological advances in the medical world. Although this site has multiple devices for all different kinds of medicine, I am going to focus on the new devices I saw that are related to cardiovascular health. The first item are the wellness wristbands that everyone seems to be purchasing to monitor things such as heart rate and the amount of steps taken during the day. However, this new wellness band not only can just monitor heart rate, distance, etc, but it can actually now determine the individual’s body fat percentage and track the amount of fat lost and gained. Even though it sounds like a great product that could be utilized by people to become more heart healthy when trying to exercise and lose weight, I am curious is to how accurate the device is. Some serious clinical trials and studies will have to be completed before I would recommend this device to patients.

The second device is wearable medical sensor. Basically, this sensor allows for continuous monitor of the individuals pulse and oxygen saturation levels. Not only is the new piece of technology far lese bulky than other pulse oximeters, but is flexible (almost like a Band-Aid) therefore allowing it to be utilized wherever, whenever, and for however long. I think this would give the ability for patients with cardiovascular disease to see how activities affect oxygen demand and if they have heart failure how they can monitor for oxygen insufficiency.

The last device I would like to talk about is called “A Cardiologist in Your Pocket.” I thought this was the neatest piece of technology because it allows doctors and patients to have a stethoscope that will record the individual’s heartbeat and pulse. These sounds and pulses will then be transmitted through Bluetooth into the individual’s mobile phone where then the doctor and individual can listen to them and determine if there is a problem or concern. I like this idea because I think this would be a great application for people who may live in rural communities where medical help is not easily accessible. They can also then send PCP vital information that can be tracked not only giving them the ability to catch problems earlier, but also to watch for certain trends such as declining health etc.

In conclusion, all of these products will continue to advance medicine, but the only concern is how accurate are these new forms of technology? Even though the three devices mentioned above would be beneficial for cardiac patients, they first must all be tested and studied to determine if they are accurate and effective. If you would like to learn more about these devices go check out…

http://latestmedicaltechnology.net/

In researching for this assignment, I came across two articles of interest, one that describes attitudes of geriatric individuals on mobile health technologies in association with warfarin therapy, and the other article sought to determine (through literature review), which telehealth methods were most effective for medication adherence and improving clinical outcomes (Granger & Bosworth, 2011; Lee et al., 2014). These telehealth methods include automated alerts sent through cellphone texting capability to remind patients to take their daily medications, refill reminders, nursing education audio-recorded and sent to patients, and digital medication reconciliation) (Granger & Bosworth, 2011). The reason that I wanted to read both articles is because when we talk about technology, which is easily accessible and somewhat simple to maneuver for many people, there are a few populations that we must consider as we move forward with these up-and-coming technological advancements in nursing education and patient support. 1) Our geriatric patients may be intimidated by unfamiliar technology and as mentioned in the article, require a great deal of support and positive reinforcement from both the healthcare professional and their family in order to be successful and consistent in using telehealth (such as cellphone automated alerts for medication administration reminders, etc.) (Lee et al., 2014). As nurses, we need to be conscientious of individual needs and remember that we feel the same way when we are trying to learn something new. 2) Low-income populations do not have the same access to technology that many of us take for granted; while medication adherence is a significant public health problem due to the prevalence of cardiovascular-related conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and heart failure, individuals without financial means to even purchase their medications may not have the means to own an expensive phone to engage in some of the newer technology that improves medication adherence. Therefore, creativity is needed to reach out to both these populations. The best results in regards to medication adherence and improved clinical outcomes were those that combined mobile reminders and face-to-face interaction; methods that only used mobile phone reminders did not improve adherence or outcomes (Granger & Bosworth, 2011). Therefore, our challenge is to find the best way to help patients gain access both to personal care, and new technology such as automated medication reminders in order to improve their outcomes and quality of life; what is wonderful about nursing is that we can continue to practice in the best of both worlds by incorporating technology into our personal nursing care.

References:

Granger, B. B. & Bosworth, H. (2011). Medication adherence: Emerging use of technology, Current Opinions in Cardiology, 26(4), doi: 10.1097/HCO.0b013e328347c150

Lee, J., Nguyen, A. L., Berg, J., Amin, A., Bachman, M., Guo, Y., & Evangelista, L. (2014). Attitudes and preferences on the use of mobile health technology and health games for self-management: Interviews with older adults on anticoagulation therapy, JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 2(3):e32, doi: 10.2196/mhealth.3196

Member strengths, limitations, and values:

Jordin:

• Strengths- Writing, PowerPoint, mind maps, posters, teamwork, communication
• Limitations- Being on time & scheduling that works for everyone
• Values- Hard work & teamwork

Hannah:

• Strength: getting work finished on time, organized, open to compromise, take charge when needed, communication
• Limitations: speaking during a presentation
• Values: teamwork, kind, honest, truthful.

Miguel:

• Strengths: Communication, listening, works well with others, use of technology (ppt), creative
• Limitations: Finding time, presenting (to an extent), writing (to an extent)
• Values: Team player, honesty, creativity, hard worker

Team member roles and accountabilities:

Group accountabilities will be equally dispersed among the group members. Each member will be expected to participate and complete assigned tasks on time to avoid further disciplinary action. All ideas, thoughts, and/or suggestions will be heard and majority ruling will take place on all decision making.

Communication style:

Various methods of communication will be utilized throughout the course of this project, including: google docs, text messaging, emails, designated meeting times, and phone calling.

Leadership style:

A demographic leadership style will be utilized in order to incorporate all members within the decision making process.

Strategies for successful team functioning:

• Listening to others ideas
• Effective communication
• Shared workload
• Shared responsibilities
• Staying on topic
• Fulfill tasks and assignments
• Respect
• Flexibility

During my search on cardiovascular health and the new technology that is being put forth in order to decrease the dramatic occurrence of heart disease, I came across an extremely unique study currently being conducted by the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). The principal investigators of the study include Dr. Jeffrey E.Olgin, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Cardiology at UCSF; Dr. Mark J. Pletcher, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Medicine at UCSF; and Dr. Gregory M. Marcus, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Clinical Research for Cardiology at UCSF. According to the University a heart attack happens every 34 seconds here in the United States and although medical advancements in preventing poor cardiovascular health are arising, there is still tons of contributing factors about the heart that we still do not know (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014). This study known as the Health eHeart study is different from others in that it relies on what they call BIG data. In other words this study plans on gathering more data about the cardiovascular system and its association with health from more people than any previous research has ever done before. How you might ask? TECHNOLOGY!

The original recruitment for the Health eHeart study is done through the website health-eheartstudy.org, which is supported by both UCSF and the American Heart Association. The study calls for all kinds of participants, those completely healthy, those who have heart disease, and even those that have heart disease that science is unable to treat, as long as they are over the age of 18 (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014). Once members join and are participants of the study, they are then able to invite others to join the study through social media (Facebook or Twitter, etc). According to the University, “We’ve made it easy to ask friends and family to join the effort and, if you want, eventually you will be able to post information about the study and let people know how you’re helping to cure heart disease” (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014).

In order to gather relevant data from the population within the Health eHeart study multiple gadgets, smartphones and other innovations of the latest technology will be utilized. The first being electronic study visits, in which all data is collected over a secure website allowing data collection to be easier and less time consuming for the participants. Another interesting facet of data collection is the utilization of mobile apps that allow you take surveys, achieve real time measurements, track various behaviors and send in medical information (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014). Some participants will even be given sensors to wear in order to monitor the health of their hearts. These sensors will then link up to their smartphones and take blood pressures, heart rate, ECG monitoring, sleep patterns, activities, and heart arrhythmias (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014).

In addition to the goal of understanding the causes of heart disease and finding new ways of its prevention, the study also has set out to develop new and more accurate ways of predicting heart disease through measurements, genetics, behavior patterns and family and medical history (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014). Additionally, the Health eHeart study has also established the goal of creating personalized tools for patients to use when the development of heart disease is already established (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014). Listed below are seven main aspects of heart disease taken from the Health eHeart study that will be further evaluated over its course.
1. Can heart disease be predicted based on measurements, behavior patterns, and family and medical history? Can we look at everyday habits in real time to determine how they affect our cardiovascular health (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014)?
2. Can we use technology to develop ways to improve cardiovascular health and rigorously test them to determine their effects on health? Or can we use technology to help people live a more heart-health lifestyle (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014)?
3. Can we determine what causes episodes of atrial fibrillation? How do behaviors, diet, other diseases and genes interact to cause it (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014)?
4. Can we use mobile technology and sensors to keep people with heart failure out of the hospital (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014)?
5. Does being more connected with people improve heart health (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014)?
6. Can we predict when heart disease, such as heart failure, coronary disease, or hypertension, will get worse before someone needs hospitalization (and even before the patient knows something is wrong)? Credit card companies use Big Data to alert you when your card has been stolen before you even realize it’s gone; Netflix can recommend movies you’ve never heard of before. Can’t we do something similar for heart disease (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014)?
7. Are people with different kinds of genes more vulnerable to particular heart disease risks (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014)?

In conclusion to the findings on the Health eHeart study being conducted through UCSF, the success of the study ultimately depends on the participants sticking with the study for many years in order to see who out of those involved become diagnosed with heart disease and who does not. Based on these results and the data collected on the comparing individuals health care professionals can better understand what affects our hearts when compared to others. As their motto states “it only take a few minutes to make a big difference” (Olgin, Pletcher & Marcus, 2014). Visit https://www.health-eheartstudy.org/ to learn more!

Reference
Olgin, J., Pletcher, M., & Marcus, G. (2014). Join the study to end heart disease. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from https://www.health-eheartstudy.org/