Healthcare and Digital Technology
I think that Nurses will be using technology more and more in the coming years. There are a lot of recent advances in technology that will be used in Nursing. For example the EHR-MU makes it easier to transfer patient records form one facility to another. Also it makes patient medical data more accessible even within the same facility. The federal health mandate around electronic health records have also begun to require that patients have access to their own health information (Linck, 2014).
CPOE is a clinical software application designed specifically for providers to write patient orders electronically rather than on paper. With CPOE, providers produce clearly typed orders, reducing medication errors based on inaccurate transcription (Nursing World, 2014).
There are also ear buds that can measure your heart rate, speed and calories burned per workout while you are listening to music and an iPhone case that turns your phone into an EKG monitor (Linck, 2014).
I think that for me as a nurse it would be beneficial to constantly educate myself about new technology and see if it is something that can help me have better access to information or help my patients. I think that mobile technology can help patients to monitor themselves but it should be recommended with caution as patients may try to self diagnose rather than seek the help of a health care professional.
The pros are that technology help nurses to have better access to information whether it is the EHR, or the internet or looking up medication information. Also with the CPOE this helps to stop medication errors by ensuring accurate transcriptions.
The cons are that new technology can be time consuming to learn and may distract from patient care.
The way that I have seen technology being used for patient education in the hospital is when the nurses can bring up handouts related to patient education that are linked to the patient record based in their current diagnosis. There were many that could be printed out and discussed with the patient like diet suggestions, or warning signs and when to call the doctor.
Reference:
Huston, C., (May 31, 2013) “The Impact of Emerging Technology on Nursing Care: Warp Speed Ahead” OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 18, No. 2, Manuscript 1.
Linck, R (2014). , Digital Trends in Nursing : http://digitaltrendsinnursing.blogspot.com
