BY DAY 3 OF WEEK 6
Post a brief description of general healthcare technology trends, particularly related to data/information you have observed in use in your healthcare organization or nursing practice. Describe any potential challenges or risks that may be inherent in the technologies associated with these trends you described. Then, describe at least one potential benefit and one potential risk associated with data safety, legislation, and patient care for the technologies you described. Next, explain which healthcare technology trends you believe are most promising for impacting healthcare technology in nursing practice and explain why. Describe whether this promise will contribute to improvements in patient care outcomes, efficiencies, or data management. Be specific and provide examples.
BY DAY 6 OF WEEK 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, offering additional/alternative ideas regarding opportunities and risks related to the observations shared.
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Healthcare Information Technology Trends
The most prominent example of healthcare technology trends is the use of electronic medical records (EMR). The use of electronic medical records improves patient care and outcomes; it allows for data collection and analysis, which will improve patient care over time. An electronic medical record is a secure real-time patient chart in electronic form. It is a chart that can easily be accessed by authorized personnel where all of the patient’s cumulative medical information is stored such as vital sign trends, medical history, medication allergies, prescriptions, procedures and so much more(“What is an electronic health record (HER)? | HealthIT.gov,” 2019). In my hospital almost all of the patient charts are on an (EMR) and can be accessed by staff in multiple departments and units all at the same time, medical professionals can add to the electronic medical records as the patient’s care progresses and are able to be recalled in following visits. I work for a private organization where most of the primary physicians or follow-up care are provided by physicians that are a part of the medical group so the patient visits a provider after a hospital stay. The provider can easily access the medical records from their office by logging on to the secure system.
The challenges that I have seen with our facility and the utilization of electronic medical records are the use of multiple systems used between the departments. LDRP uses Centricity, ER is using Medi Tech while the inpatient units are using Micro medics there are also the Microsoft portions, and the Cath lab and OR use a separate charting system. I have access to all the systems, but most medical professionals only have access to the charting systems they work based on the departments they work in. Some risks I have spoken about in the previous post are the risk of cyber-attacks. Our hospital was a victim of having their medical records held at ransom. Luckily, there was no privacy breach at the tie, but it changed how we view electronic medical records (Baker, 2016). If there is a loss of power or computer malfunctions, we cannot only access the medical records, the test cannot be ordered, and the results cannot be viewed. We have mandatory downtimes once a month, and during that time, we are not able to utilize the electronic medical records, so we have to use paper charting and then scan the charts into the electronic medical records when the system comes back up.
Patients are utilizing the electronic medical charting system to keep track of their healthcare records; they can access their medical records anywhere from their phones (Skiba, 2017). A great example is one of the children I have requires many specialty visits at Loma Linda children’s hospital and every time is seeing a provider they ask for any updates on care that the baby has gotten, I can pull up on my phone the MYCHART app, and I have all of his medical information from labs to procedures and everything else right there on my phone (My Chart, n.d.). A second would be telemedicine, which is growing in the healthcare setting quickly since the pandemic presented itself at the beginning of the year. Telemedicine allows for access to providers that would usually not be accessed, for example, in my hospital mental health telemedicine. During this time, it allows for decreased contact between humans, decreasing the risk of transmission of COVID- 19 (Phillips et al., 2020).
I believe strongly that the benefits outweigh the risks of having electronic medical records. I personally know through my work that I can provide better treatment for my patients when I can quickly log onto a computer and access their medical information rather than running around looking for a hard chart and navigating through it to find the information in hopes that the lab results and such have made it to the chart. I can quickly trend a patient’s care by easily having access to previous visits allowing for optimal treatment. I also know on a personal level that having electronic medical records that I can easily access allows me to seek treatment for my children without having to run around and collect medical records from different offices.
Reference
Baker, P. (2016, March 23). Desert Valley hospital hacked by ransomware.vvdailypress.com.https://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20160323/NEWS/160329900
MyChart. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic.https://my.clevelandclinic.org/online-services/mychart#:~:text=MyChart%20is%20a%20secure%2C%20online%20health%20management%20tool,test%20results%2C%20including%20labs%2C%20radiology%2C%20procedures%2C%20and%20pathology
Phillips, T., Munn, A., & George, T. (2020, May 6).Assessing the impact of telehealth objective structured…: Nurse educator.LWW.https://journals.lww.com/nurseeducatoronline/FullText/2020/05000/Assessing_the_Impact_of_Telehealth_Objective.23.aspx
Skiba, D. (2017, September 15).Evaluation tools to appraise social media and mobile applications. MDPI.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/4/3/32
What is an electronic health record (EHR)? | HealthIT.gov. (2019, September 10). ONC | Office of the National Coordinator for Health InformationTechnology.https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record-ehr
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Collapse SubdiscussionBertina Boma Soh Hello Oluyemi Adeagbo,
Thanks for the informative post. As an RN Care Manager, I have seen firsthand how healthcare technology trends have changed how we approach patient care. One way is using electronic medical records (EMR). These records allow us to easily track a patient’s health information over time, which can be used to inform decisions about treatments and medications (Nguyen et al., 2022). In addition, it provides us with up-to-date information on lab results, drugs, and other critical healthcare information. A great example of how EMRs have improved patient care in our nursing home is the “MyChart” app that some residents use. This app allows residents to easily access their medical records on their phones and keep track of their health information from anywhere. This has been especially helpful when the resident needs treatment from a specialist outside our nursing home. This app allows the specialist to quickly the patient’s medical records and make informed decisions about the treatment and medication courses. Another healthcare technology trend that I have seen in our nursing home is the use of telemedicine. This has been especially helpful during the pandemic when physical visits to a provider are not always possible. Through telemedicine, our residents can receive healthcare services from providers without leaving the nursing home. This has allowed us to provide better care and reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for our residents. Therefore, it is clear that healthcare technology trends are changing the way we positively approach patient care.
References
Nguyen, Q., Wybrow, M., Burstein, F., Taylor, D., & Enticott, J. (2022). Understanding the impacts of health information systems on patient flow management: A systematic review across several decades of research. PloS one, 17(9), e0274493.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMenard Tchatchou-Tchoubia Healthcare Information Technology Trends
Response Post # 1
Menard Tchatchou
Walden University
NURS 6051 N
Dr. Lynne Taylor
1/5/2023
Hi Oluyemi, what a great post! It is not a secret that the modern technology has been very helpful in improving patient care and outcome. Medical Records, birthed by modern technology, does more than improve patient care and outcome (although this is the overarching benefit the technology has attracted in the healthcare space). Before EMR, clinics operated entirely on paperwork, be it in recording patient results, keeping track of patient health status, or interpreting symptoms. This often resulted in fatigue among clinicians as they could go through a bunch of documents trying to land on a specific page. With EMR, workflows are optimized as the search for patient information is rapid and accurate (Khalifa, 2017). Running on a computer program, clinicians quickly pull any specific information regarding a patient by simply searching for keywords on the search button. Also, paperwork consumes space and can make offices look quite untidy. EMR allows storing a large amount of data that could require hundreds of pages for documentation. As such, space is saved. Further, since many patients’ data can be stored in one place where it can be easily retrieved, EMR saves on operational costs.
EMR has its challenges too. Cybersecurity is the major one and can breed devastating outcomes in the event of cyber-hacking. However, cloud services are the novel technological solutions currently addressing the issue. Other key risks of EMR; for example, wrong data entry, detrimental outcomes to the patient in the proceeding treatments, privacy and confidentially issues. In the first risk, in case a recording doctor misses or intermix patients’ data, chances are that the following treatment appointments for the patients will suffer medical errors (Janett & Yeracaris, 2020). Since doctors can store patient data in EMR and even upload it in drive storage like USB, privacy issues arise. If the doctor fails to enhance the system’s security by setting strong passwords and encrypting data, patient data may leak, violating confidentiality and privacy ethics (Afzal & Arshad, 2021).
References
Afzal, S., & Arshad, A. (2021). Ethical issues among healthcare workers using electronic medical records: A systematic review. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine Update, 1, 100030. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266699002100029XLinks to an external site.
Janett, R. S., & Yeracaris, P. P. (2020). Electronic Medical Records in the American Health System: challenges and lessons learned. Ciencia & saude coletiva, 25, 1293-1304. https://www.scielosp.org/article/csc/2020.v25n4/1293-1304/en/Links to an external site.
Khalifa, M. (2017, July). Perceived Benefits of Implementing and Using Hospital Information Systems and Electronic Medical Records. In ICIMTH (pp. 165-168). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohamed-Khalifa-22/publication/318339960_Perceived_Benefits_of_Implementing_and_Using_Hospital_Information_Systems_and_Electronic_Medical_Records/links/59d74a32458515db19cb702e/Perceived-Benefits-of-Implementing-and-Using-Hospital-Information-Systems-and-Electronic-Medical-Records.pdfLinks to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionBarkisu Fortenberry First response
Hello Oluyemi,
Great post with detailed information. Departments using different electronic health record systems could present significant operational challenges and efficiency. For instance, as you stated, lab staff needing to learn how to use the system being used in the radiology unit means they cannot easily communicate or share certain information on time. Most institutions tend to have this many systems within the organization to reduce harm when the system is hacked. For instance, if a system used in the lab is hacked, it could mean that only lab-related information could be compromised, unlike when all the departments use one system. In that case, it would mean that the whole hospital and all patient health information would be compromised, which could be a significant loss. Therefore, as long as we think of the hospitals having a similar system for all departments, it is also necessary to look at the security perspective, considering that all staff uses the system (Dinh-Le et al., 2019). Some may need to be more cognizant of the measures to avoid cybercrimes even after thorough training on protecting patient-protected information.
I also agree that one of the most significant risks when using electronic health record systems is unauthorized access to patient-protected information. Using the electronic health record system means the patient-protected information is on the internet, and strict measures must be taken to ensure only authorized persons can access the information. Staff is often trained on HIPAA policy and how to protect patients protected information, but sometimes mistakes happen, and cybercrimes learn faster than organizations. There are instances when organizations have had their system compromised. Protecting patient health information involves healthcare workers, the hospital, patients, and other authorized third parties (Abul-Husn et al., 2019). These teams must work together to ensure that no other unauthorized persons access patient information. Unfortunately, sometimes it becomes a challenge, and cyber thieves are becoming smarter every day. One of the best ways hospitals can best protect patient-protected health information is through constant training and reminding their healthcare workers of knowledge, skills, and readiness to protect patient health information (Shahnaz et al., 2019). They also need to frequently audit their resources to protect the system from being compromised and invest in surveillance to help learn new tricks used by cyber thieves and their possible countermeasures.
References
Abul-Husn, N. S., & Kenny, E. E. (2019). Personalized medicine and the power of electronic health records. Cell, 177(1), 58-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.02.039Links to an external site.
Dinh-Le, C., Chuang, R., Chokshi, S., & Mann, D. (2019). Wearable health technology and electronic health record integration: scoping review and future trends. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(9), e12861.https://mhealth.jmir.org/2019/9/e12861/
Shahnaz, A., Qamar, U., & Khalid, A. (2019). Using blockchain for electronic health records. IEEE Access, 7, 147782-147795. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8863359/
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Collapse SubdiscussionKatrina Brooks Hi Oluyemi,
I agree that the use of EMR improves patient care and outcomes. The use of EMR systems “helps providers more effectively diagnose patients,reduce medical errors and provide safer care; it also ensures legible, complete documentation (What are the advantages of Electronic Health Records, 2022). Easy and quick access to patient information is also vital to providers. Patients are also able to access test results, medical records and etc. with the use of EMR systems. Reliable internet connection, frequent updating and cybersecurity issues are some of the challenges associated with EMR use. Even with the challenges the benefits far outweigh the risks. Electronic medical records is the future of healthcare.
References
What are the advantages of Electronic Health Records? What are the advantages of electronic health records? | HealthIT.gov. (2022, March 8). https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-are-advantages-electronic-health-recordsLinks to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionKatrina Brooks COVID-19 created extensive disruption in healthcare services around the world, increasing the need for the use of technology. The pandemic triggered a demand for digital transformation in order to tend to patient needs. “Digital health incorporates the use of information technology, wearable devices, telehealth, mobile health and telemedicine to manage illnesses and health risks and to promote wellness” (Williams, 2022). Other healthcare technology trends include artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, automated IV pumps, portable monitors and smart beds.
Challenges with incorporating technology in healthcare include security, integration and cost, data privacy and effectiveness and regulation of digital technologies. Being that more people are using mobile health apps “it is important for healthcare professionals to have the knowledge and skills to evaluate and recommend appropriate digital tools” (Skiba, 2017). Users must also have the knowledge and skills to use the apps successfully. In order to utilize technology, the user must have a cellphone suitable for video conferencing and a reliable internet connection.
Mobile devices and apps have many benefits for both providers and patients. Apps that providers can use include drug reference guides, medical calculators, electronic prescribing, coding and billing, some apps are even able to perform hearing and vision test. Providers who use EPIC have instant access to patient information due to EPIC partnering with Apple, a version of EPIC can now be downloaded on an iPhone or iPad. Communication and collaboration amongst providers and other healthcare personnel is essential, “mobile devices satisfy this need by offering multiple means of communication including: voice and video calling, text, email, multimedia messaging and video conferencing” (Ventola, 2014).
Patients can use mobile apps to track vital signs, set reminders, monitor blood sugar levels, connect with their provider, online counseling, etc. Prescription alerts and medication adherence, immediate access to care, convenience and improved monitoring are just a few of the benefits for patient mobile health app use. For example, mySugr is an app for diabetic patients, with the app patients are able to set blood glucose reminders, check estimated A1C level, bolus calculator, automatic data import with blood glucose meter, daily, weekly and monthly reports to share with their provider, meal shots to improve carb counting and so much more.
Risk involved with using mobile health apps include patient privacy, mobile screen size, internet connection, the user’s ability to use the app correctly and resistance from older providers who are not tech savvy. It is imperative that patients who utilize these apps keep their phone protected. Some of the apps have a monthly or yearly subscription, therefore it is important for providers to ensure that the patient can afford it before making recommendations.
Telehealth has a promising impact in nursing practice. With telehealth providers are able to connect with patients using audio and video technology. Care and resources can be provided to patients who live in rural areas or areas with physician shortage; it can overall reduce wait times and patient travel while improving access to and quality of care. Providers are able to potentially diagnose and treat and monitor a wide range of acute and chronic conditions.
Telehealth helps improve patient outcomes because video conferencing is an easy way for patients to comply with follow up appointments, contact their provider about side effects or prescription renewals, remove barriers to mental health treatment and follow up after hospitalization. Patients are able to voice their concerns and complaints comfortably without office distractions. Patients who are potentially contagious will not expose others and immunocompromised patients aren’t exposed to viruses and infectious diseases.
References
Dr. Nicola Williams, P.D. (2022, March 22). How has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted the Adoption of Digital Health Technology? https://www.news-medical.net/health/How-has-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-Impacted-the-Adoption-of-Digital-Health-Technology.aspxLinks to an external site.
Skiba, D. (2017). Evaluation tools to appraise social media and mobile applications Links to an external site.Links to an external site.. Informatics, 4(3), 32–40.
Ventola C. L. (2014). Mobile devices and apps for health care professionals: uses and benefits. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management, 39(5), 356–364.
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Collapse SubdiscussionRaminder Kaur Hi Katrina, Excellent Post!
As you mentioned, Global healthcare services were significantly disrupted by COVID-19, increasing the need for technology. During the COVID-19 epidemic, mobile app-based digital health and telemedicine solutions gained popularity. Using apps for digital contact tracing, we gathered and analyzed data on people’s proximity, location, movement, and health. Telemedicine is becoming increasingly popular all over the world. General practice visits, teledermatology, and psychological health treatments are the most common uses of telemedicine. Improved professional education, improved quality control of screening programs, and lower healthcare costs are just a few of the potential benefits of telemedicine. Other potential benefits include improved access to information, the delivery of care that was not previously possible, increased service accessibility, and care delivery.
Patient restrictions, a lack of access to smartphones, computers, broadband Internet, technology capability, and comfort with telehealth visits are some drawbacks of telemedicine. Other drawbacks include difficulties with clinical care, such as unavoidable deviations from clinically accepted standards of care (such as patients taking vital signs rather than healthcare professionals and limited ability to perform physical exams). Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the development of technologies for telemonitoring patients and programs for chronic diseases, progress may slow down after the pandemic is over. Increased outreach, education, and infrastructure support are necessary for underrepresented, marginalized, and vulnerable populations to gain access to telemedicine.
References
Daragó L; Jung Z; Ispán F; Bendes R; Dinya E; (2013). [benefits and disadvantages of telemedicine]. Orvosi hetilap. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23876613/Links to an external site.
NM; H. (2005). Benefits and drawbacks of telemedicine. Journal of telemedicine and telecare. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15829049/Links to an external site.
Omboni S; Padwal RS; Alessa T; Benczúr B; Green BB; Hubbard I; Kario K; Khan NA; Konradi A; Logan AG; Lu Y; Mars M; McManus RJ; Melville S; Neumann CL; Parati G; Renna NF; Rivlin P; Saner H; Schutte AE; Wang J; (2022). The worldwide impact of telemedicine during COVID-19: Current evidence and recommendations for the future. Connected health. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35233563/Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionBertina Boma Soh Hi Brooks, you are right that risks involved with using mobile health apps include patient privacy, mobile screen size, internet connection, the user’s ability to use the app correctly and resistance from older providers who are not tech savvy (Williams, 2022). Patients use mobile apps to track vital signs, set reminders, monitor blood sugar levels, connect with their provider, online counseling (Ventola, 2017).The iPhone, and now smartphones of many types, not only connect us to one another and each of us to our physical health and our health care providers, but potentially they also connect our physical health to everyone else. This revolution is now popularly referred to as” mHealth.” The iPhone, and successors like Android and Samsung Galaxy, ushered in a new age in which privacy is being redefined. But mHealth raises the stakes associated with this new age considerably, since our most sensitive and private information is, and increasingly will be, stored and shared by those little devices in our pockets. And once that information is on our phones, it potentially is everywhere (Mcknight et Al., 2018).
Works Cited
Dr. Nicola Williams, P.D. (2022, March 22). How has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted the Adoption of Digital Health Technology?https://www.news-medical.net/health/How-has-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-Impacted-the-Adoption-of-Digital-Health-Technology.aspxVentola C. L. (2017). Mobile devices and apps for health care professionals: uses and benefits. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management, 39(5), 356–364.
McKnight, R., & Franko, O. (2018). HIPAA compliance with mobile devices among ACGME programs. Journal of medical systems, 40(5), 1-8.
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Collapse SubdiscussionJamee Renee Linnenbrink Katrina,
Great post to read. I agree that things have significantly changed since COVID. I have been seeing an increase of patients coming into the ER using telehealth services that they get free from their insurance companies. There has been an increase since 2017 in access to telehealth services through private insurances ( Harvey et al, 2019). One of the issues with this is that they are given antibiotics many times without a physical evaluation. For example, recently a child came into ED that had been seen by a telehealth doctor through their insurance company. The main complaint was ear pain. They were given an oral antibiotic for ear infections. The child continues to have ear pain after several days of antibiotic use. Upon evaluation in the ED, the child actually had a foreign body in the ear and not an infection at all. Many of the patients that I have personally witnessed are given an antibiotic if they call in for upper respiratory infection complaints. My concern is that this could lead to antibiotic abuse. Antibiotics are prescribed in half of all hospital discharges and 1 in 8 outpatient visits (Vaugh et al, 2022).
References
Vaughn, V. M., Hersh, A. L., & Spivak, E. S. (2022). Antibiotic Overuse and Stewardship at Hospital Discharge: The Reducing Overuse of
Antibiotics at Discharge Home Framework. Clinical infectious diseases, 74(9), 1696-1702.
Harvey, J. B., Valenta, S., Simpson, K., Lyles, M., & McElligott, J. (2019). Utilization of outpatient telehealth services in parity and nonparity states
2010–2015. Telemedicine and e-Health, 25(2), 132-136.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMenard Tchatchou-Tchoubia Healthcare Information Technology Trends
Main Post
Menard Tchatchou
Walden University
NURS 6051 N
Dr. Lynne Taylor
1/2/2023
Healthcare Information Technology Trends
The healthcare sector is undergoing a technological transformation to adapt to the problems of the twenty-first century. Technology can help healthcare organizations operate more efficiently and provide better patient care while also helping them fulfil the growing demand. Most healthcare organizations have adopted healthcare information technology (HIT), but there are still several issues, possible advantages, and dangers connected to data security, laws, and patient care.
Healthcare Information Technology in My Healthcare Organization
My workplace in the healthcare institution has seen the implementation of electronic health record (EHR) systems to store a large amount of patient data (HealthIT.gov., 2019). Because obtaining patient data is so direct, the technology has boosted treatment effectiveness while greatly reducing workload. However, I have seen that using EHR causes sluggish data entry. Notably, inputting data into an EHR requires a significant amount of typing, which reduces physician productivity. I have also seen concerns with the device’s usability. EHRs, in particular, are not available at the bedside or anywhere else a clinician requires them, which greatly slows down workflow.
Potential EHR Challenges in Terms of Safety, Legislation, And Patient Care
EHRs have several advantages and risks in patient care, data security, and the law. The system’s ability to securely share electronic information with other professionals and patients is a noteworthy benefit connected to data security (HealthIT.gov., 2018). However, when accessed by an unauthorized person, EHR also presents a risk of a data breach (HealthIT.gov., 2019). Identity theft may be committed with such data.
Regarding the law, the Health Information Technology for Electronic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 compelled the switch to EHR, improving patient care by giving doctors rapid access to patient data needed for better diagnosis and patient outcomes (Adler-Milstein & Jha, 2017). However, the law risks interfering with providers’ workflows and short-term productivity losses. In inpatient care, EHR improves the capacity to identify sickness and reduces or even prevents medical errors, improving patient outcomes (Mcgonigle & Mastrian, 2021). Nevertheless, it is important to remember that as EHR capabilities advance, more complicated software is required, which raises the risk of software failures that could jeopardize patient safety. A software malfunction may negatively impact an immense number of patients in an EHR that houses patients’ medical records, such as a bug that results in erroneous reporting of patients’ prescriptions or allergies.
Most Promising Healthcare Technology Developments for Influencing Healthcare Technology in Nursing Practice
Moreover, some of the most promising medical technology advancements for improving nursing practice include using electronic health records, telemedicine, and mobile health applications. These technologies enhance nurse-to-nurse communication, increase patient access to care, and enhance patient outcomes. EHRs can enhance the flow of information between nurses and other healthcare professionals, expand patient access to care, and enhance patient outcomes (Mcgonigle & Mastrian, 2021). For example, nurses might use telehealth to assist patients who live in rural areas or have difficulty accessing treatment. Nurses can use electronic health records to maintain track of their patients’ prescriptions, allergies, and medical histories. A nurse can provide telehealth services to patients who live in a remote area or have trouble receiving treatment by establishing a phone or computer connection with them. After that, the nurse can answer any patient’s queries and give them health information and advice.
Contribution to Better Patient Outcomes, Efficiency, and Data Management
One of the main benefits of mobile health applications is improved data management. Patients and medical professionals can easily track and manage medical data using a mobile health app. It could lead to more complete and accurate medical records. Additionally, mobile health apps help you spend less time on administrative tasks like scheduling and paying (Atarodi & Atarodi, 2019). Another benefit of mobile health apps is increased effectiveness. The use of mobile health apps can automate tasks and reminders. Both patients and medical professionals may benefit from time savings in this. Also, mobile health apps can help patients take a more proactive approach to their health by giving them easy access to resources and tools. Notably, patient outcomes can be improved with the aid of mobile health apps. Mobile health apps can help patients, and their caregivers communicate better by providing easy access to health information and tools. Mobile health apps can also help individuals manage their conditions more effectively.
Conclusion
To meet the difficulties of the twenty-first century, the healthcare organizations are undergoing a technological change. As result, healthcare organizations are employing technology to increase productivity, provide better patient care, and satisfy rising demand. Electronic health records, telemedicine, and mobile health applications are some of the most promising developments in medical technology for enhancing nursing practice. With the help of these technologies, nurse-to-nurse contact is improved, and patients have better access to care and better outcomes. Notably, EHRs have the capacity to improve communication between nurses and other healthcare providers, increase patient access to care, and improve patient outcomes.
References
Adler-Milstein, J., & Jha, A. K. (2018). HITECH Act Drove Large Gains in Hospital Electronic Health Record Adoption. Health Affairs, 36(8), 1416–1422. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1651Links to an external site.
Mcgonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). Nursing Informatics and The Foundation of Knowledge. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Radanović, I., & Likić, R. (2018). Opportunities for the use of Blockchain Technology in Medicine. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 16(5), 583–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-018-0412-8Links to an external site.
Atarodi, A., & Atarodi, A. (2019). The impact of information technology on health. Journal of Research and Health, 9(3), 193–194. https://doi.org/10.29252/jrh.9.3.193
HealthIT.gov. (2019, September 10). What is an electronic health record (EHR)? Healthit.gov. https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record-ehrLinks to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMaxine A Lewis Nice post Manard, you stated that you have observed “sluggish data entry in the usage of EHR”. I totally agree with you as sluggish data entry can inadvertently result in error in medical information entered in a patient’s chart. Bell et al. cites that practitioners may import inaccurate medication lists, propagate other erroneous information electronically by copying and pasting older parts of the record, or enter erroneous examination findings (2020) and Infrequent and minor data inaccuracies in EHR timestamps can jeopardize a clinical organization’s ability to accurately evaluate whether it is fulfilling performance targets (Ward, Self, and Froehle, 2015).
My family is presently experiencing this data entry error inconvenience. I took my father for an office visit to make a long story short his chart indicated that he was from a different race, age, and sex. After going over his chart with my father’s new physician the conclusion was that a physician documented on the wrong chart. Ok so this should be an easy fix as the chart will be reconciled on the next visit, but it was not to be as 2 months later when I tried to confirm his appointment, he was still the same female. I had to go through the inconvenience of again explaining the situation concerning his chart. 2 weeks ago, my father was not able to get his antihypertensive medication as he was told it was not on his medication profile so again, we had to refer to the unreconciled EHR. Amazingly, with technological advance, the issue still has not been resolved, resulting in us examining his charts and creating a patient portal to track errors.
The National Patient Misidentification report found that 86 percent of nurses, physicians, and IT (Information Technologist) practitioners witnessed or knew of a medical error that was the result of patient misidentification. The inability for EHRs to consistently match patients to their data can have dire consequences, leading to increased risk from redundant procedures (Aroditis, 2019).
References
Aroditis, A., 2019. The Patient Risks of EHR Errors., https://www.healthitoutcomes.com/doc/the-patient-safety-risks-of-ehr-errors-0001Links to an external site.
Bell SK, Delbanco T, Elmore JG, et al. Frequency and Types of Patient-Reported Errors in Electronic Health Record Ambulatory Care Notes. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(6):e205867. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.5867
Ward, M. J., Self, W. H., & Froehle, C. M. (2015). Effects of Common Data Errors in Electronic Health Records on Emergency Department Operational Performance Metrics: A Monte Carlo Simulation. Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 22(9), 1085–1092. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.12743
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Collapse SubdiscussionBarkisu Fortenberry Second response
Hello Menard Tchatchou
Great post. Electronic healthcare records have indeed improved data management, which is attached to many other benefits, including reducing errors and improving the overall safety of healthcare while reducing the workload and time healthcare workers spend on data management. Many research and surveys confirm the effectiveness of electronic healthcare records in improving safety and reducing errors in healthcare. For instance, Vaidotas et al. (2019) proved a reduction of 86 events per million opportunities between units that used electronic healthcare records and conventional medical records. The study noted more errors in departments using traditional medical records than in electronic health records.
John Hopkins conducted a study that ranked medical errors as the third leading cause of death in the United States. Annually, over 250000 Americans succumb to conditions related to medical errors (Shahnaz et al., 2019). The CDC also conducted a study that showed that the United States uses over $ three billion to pay for adverse drug-related events, and adverse drug events were the six leading causes of death in the United States. Fortunately, the electronic health record system has automated artificial intelligence that sifts massive patient information and files. In retrospect, healthcare workers would go through huge files with many pages to get specific information about a patient with a chronic condition. The electronic health records system’s artificial intelligence machine can now sift through patient-protected health information to help healthcare professionals know patients’ allergies and past medical history and thus know how to care for them safely HealthIT.gov, 2019). It is unanimously agreed that the electronic health records system has improved healthcare much.
Still, electronic health records systems in healthcare could be potentially harmful if hackers access patient-protected health information. Therefore, healthcare organizations and stakeholders must collaborate to ensure patient-protected health information is always protected (HealthIT.gov, 2019). The healthcare organization must constantly be on the watch because hackers are inventing new ways to overcome the interventions to prevent them from compromising systems and accessing data. The best thing healthcare organizations can do is always to educate and remind their employees about protecting patient health information and invest in tools and resources to promote the safety of electronic health records.
References
HealthIT.gov. (2019, September 10). What is an electronic health record (EHR)? Healthit.gov. https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record-ehrLinks to an external site.
Shahnaz, A., Qamar, U., & Khalid, A. (2019). Using blockchain for electronic health records. IEEE Access, 7, 147782-147795. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8863359
Vaidotas, M., Yokota, P. K. O., Negrini, N. M. M., Leiderman, D. B. D., Souza, V. P. D., Santos, O. F. P. D., & Wolosker, N. (2019). Medication errors in emergency departments: is electronic medical record an effective barrier?. Einstein (São Paulo), 17. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6611086/Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionChristiana Nuworsoo Menard,
Thank you for a great post. Unfortunately, your facility does not have EHR access at the bedside, but some facilities do. I
have worked for three hospital systems, and two have the ability and equipment in each room to access EHRs. It is fantastic
because all patient charting is done before you exit the room. Another way to have the EHR at the bedside would be to use a
workstation-on-wheels (WOW) that allows nurses to document and perform chart reviews in the patient’s room (Gomes et at.,
2016). As much as I like the ability to access an EHR in the patient’s room, it takes away from paying close attention to the
patient.
I agree that inputting data into an EHR requires a significant amount of typing; however, it reduces a nurse’s productivity
rather than a physician’s. Again maybe at your facility, it reduces a physician’s productivity. Still, there are facilities, including my
current institution, where physicians can use a microphone to dictate their clinical notes in which their speech is converted to
text in the EHR, so they do not have to type unless they want to correct a mistake. This type of technology is known as medical
speech recognition (MSR) and is increasingly used across the country (Freedman, 2022). Although I think it is a benefit, I have
seen providers use them at the nurses’ station, which to me, is not private. Should a visitor walk past the station, they can hear
what is being dictated.
References
Freedman, M. (2022, June 29). Benefits of medical speech-to-text. Business News Daily.
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/16379-medical-speech-text-benefits.htmlLinks to an external site.
Gomes, M., Hash, P., Orsolini, L., Watkins, A., & Mazzoccoli, A. (2016). Connecting Professional Practice and Technology at the
Bedside: Nurses’ Beliefs about Using an Electronic Health Record and Their Ability to Incorporate Professional and Patient-
Centered Nursing Activities in Patient Care. Computers, informatics, nursing: CIN, 34(12), 578–586.
https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000280Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionOdion Iseki HEALTHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
MAIN POST
In the past few years, there has been a significant improvement in the quality of medical records. Getting to a patient’s records used to be challenging because they were spread out in several locations (Laureate Education, 2018). Because of the development of EHR systems, all these files are now kept digitally.
Electronic health records are one example of an improved technology that is becoming more common. This system is a live, patient-focused record-keeping platform (HealthITGo., 2018). Healthcare professionals rely heavily on electronic health records (EHRs) to assist them in daily operations, including taking and recording vital signs and dispensing medication.
Electronic health records (EHRs) have numerous advantages but are not without danger. (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017) Some of the benefits are increased productivity, lower costs, better record-keeping, and fewer drug errors. The availability of critical information is accelerated, and patient safety is enhanced. Some systems are built to warn users before a problem becomes critical. For instance, when a patient is connected to a telemetry monitoring system in an intensive care unit, information from the ICU can be sent to an electronic health record. This method keeps track of all the changes to the data, which helps determine if the new medicine has changed the patient’s heart rate.
Electronic health records (EHR) have a lot of good points, but sometimes the bad points get in the way. Potential data loss is a danger (Thakkar & Davis, 2009). The absence of accurate records when an EHR system is down a common complaint about the practice. If the server does not have a backup, healthcare workers must use a paper chart or have no information. It is essential to strike a balance between doing the right thing and meeting the many demands of working in a hospital (Balestra, 2017). For patients with strict intake and output needs, the nurse must give accurate information quickly.
More and more hospitals and clinics are switching to electronic health records. Everyone involved in the patient’s care would greatly benefit from access to the patient’s electronic health information, and I would benefit from having access to all the records myself. One must properly diagnose a patient with access to their entire medical history. Electronic health record systems will enhance treatment at every stage by tracking a patient’s medical history in one place. This will ensure they are always kept on the radar when it comes to keeping tabs on their most crucial health indicators.
References:
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Electronic Records and Managing IT Change [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
HealthIT.gov (2018c). What is an electronic health record (EHR)? Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record-ehrLinks to an external site.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Thakkar, M., & Davis, D. C. (2009, July 17). Risks, barriers, and benefits of EHR systems: A comparative study based on the size of hospital | perspectives. Perspectives | In Health Information Management. Retrieved July 6, 2021, from https://perspectives.ahima.org/risks-barriers-and-benefits-of-ehr-systems-a-comparative-study-based-on-size-of-hospital/
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Collapse SubdiscussionOluyemi Adeagbo Hi Odion,
Retrieving patient records has definitely become simpler than it was two decades ago, as you have clearly stipulated. Developments of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have integrated record-keeping components by taking advantage of digital databases (Luo, 2019). EHR systems echo benefits like lower costs, time saving, and reduced medication errors because of the heightened accuracy levels of the systems. On the flip side, I agree that data breaches and data loss represent possibilities that could cause catastrophic damages, which calls for healthcare organizations to implement robust backups. However, healthcare practitioners should not neglect manual record-keeping protocols that hold benefits such as during diagnosis in unprecedented scenarios where the EHR system might face technical malfunctions (Tubaishat, 2021). It, therefore, becomes eminent, as you have stated, for healthcare institutions to adopt the EHR system as a positive improvement in patient care.
References
Luo, S. (2019). Special focus issue on nursing informatics: Challenges of utilizing electronic health records. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 6(1), 125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2018.11.001Links to an external site.
Tubaishat, A. (2021). The adoption of electronic health records in primary healthcare settings. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 39(12), 883-889. https://doi.org/10.1097/cin.0000000000000755Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMenard Tchatchou-Tchoubia HEALTHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Response Post # 2
Menard Tchatchou
Walden University
NURS 6051 N
Dr. Lynne Taylor
1/6/2023
I agree with my colleague Odion Iseki, about his observations regarding the opportunities and risks related to electronic health records. The numerous advantages of electronic health records (EHRs) include increased productivity, lower costs, better record-keeping, and fewer drug errors, as well as improved patient safety and the availability of critical information (Charnock, 2019). However, there are also some potential risks associated with EHRs, such as data loss, server downtime, and the inability to access accurate records when the system is down (Charnock, 2019). In addition to the risks already mentioned, there are other potential risks associated with the use of electronic health records.
One such risk is the potential for unauthorized access to confidential patient data (Li et al., 2020). This can occur if a hacker or other malicious actor is able to gain access to the EHR system. Additionally, there is the risk of data breaches or other security issues, which could lead to the disclosure of sensitive patient information. Additionally, there is the potential for errors or omissions in the data stored in an EHR system, which could lead to incorrect medical decisions or treatments (Li et al., 2020). Despite the potential risks associated with the use of electronic health records, there are also numerous potential benefits that could be realized by healthcare providers.
One of the most significant benefits is the potential for improved patient outcomes (Fennelly et al., 2020). By having access to a comprehensive, up-to-date patient record, physicians can make more accurate diagnoses and provide more effective treatments. Additionally, having access to a patient’s complete medical history in one place can help to ensure that they receive the most appropriate care (Fennelly et al., 2020). Furthermore, having access to a patient’s EHR can help to reduce unnecessary costs and procedures, as healthcare providers can quickly and easily refer to a patient’s treatment history in order to identify any duplicative tests or treatments.
Overall, I believe that electronic health records offer numerous potential benefits that could help to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. However, it is important to recognize the potential risks associated with these systems and to ensure that they are properly secured in order to protect patient privacy and data integrity.
References
Charnock, V. (2019). Electronic healthcare records and data quality. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 36(1), 91-95.
Fennelly, O., Cunningham, C., Grogan, L., Cronin, H., O’Shea, C., Roche, M., … & O’Hare, N. (2020). Successfully implementing a national electronic health record: a rapid umbrella review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 144, 104281.
Li, R., Chen, Y., Ritchie, M. D., & Moore, J. H. (2020). Electronic health records and polygenic risk scores for predicting disease risk. Nature Reviews Genetics, 21(8), 493-502.
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Collapse SubdiscussionIrvin Michael Jones Hi Odion,
Healthcare organizations have certainly seen a significant improvement in the way that we manage the immense amount of big data we receive through patient care. Electronic health record systems have been one of the single best technologies developed to manage this mass amounts of information. Although my current hospital utilizes pen and paper charting, the plan to implement an electronic charting system will improve staff’s efficiency. Boonstra et al. (2021) states EHRs have improved quality of patient care through safe integration of patient data and improved user performance. This healthcare trend will continue to see improvements as healthcare organizations seek to lower their costs and increase productivity. EHRs are capable of improving safety as well and assist staff in preventing medication errors. As you mentioned, there are safeguards built into most EHR systems to warn staff when there may be potential for a medication error. Deldar and Karwan (2022) states EHRs improve patient safety and protect healthcare staff members from making mistakes. EHRs continue to be a mainstay in healthcare organizations, and I hope to continue to see improvements made to them.
References
Boonstra, A., Jonker, T. L., van Offenbeek, M. A. G., & Vos, J. F. J. (2021). Persisting workarounds in
Electronic Health Record System use: types, risks and benefits. BMC Medical Informatics
and Decision Making, 21(1), 183. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-021-01548-0
Deldar M. A., & Karwan, A. P. (2022). BARRIERS AND BENEFITS OF ADOPTING ELECTRONIC
HEALTH RECORDS (EHRs) IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS. Health Problems of Civilization, 16(1),
93–107. https://doi.org/10.5114/hpc.2022.113596
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Collapse SubdiscussionJodian Walford EHRs aid in increasing the productivity and efficiency of medical professionals reducing human errors hence, saving time and lives. EHR enhances the quality of care and improves patient outcomes through increased accessibility while creating a forum where patients can be educated on the condition. According to Skiba (2017), Patients are utilizing the health record system to system to keep track of their healthcare records which are accessible from anywhere from their phones.
As you rightly shared, the system still has significant drawbacks despite the great benefits. In addition to the ones you mention, there is a risk of breach of privacy through cyber-attacks, hacking, or unauthorized persons gaining access. The acquisition and maintenance costs of these systems can be very high. Nevertheless, the EHR is still one of the best interventions in the healthcare industry to date. Trout et al. (2022) explain that using electronic health record systems is associated with an increase in overall patient safety and documentation efficiency. Electronic health recording provides easy access for authorized users and allows for the flow of information specific to the patient treatment, from the nurse at the bedside to the physician prescribing treatment to the pharmacy (Cipriano,2011).
References
Cipriano, P. E. & Murphy, J. (2011). Nursing informatics. The future of nursing and health IT: The quality elixir. Nursing Economic, 29(5), 282, 286-289
Trout, K. E., Chen, L.-W., Wilson, F. A., Tak, H. J., & Palm, D. (2022). The Impact of Meaningful Use and Electronic Health Records on Hospital Patient Safety. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19).
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912525
Skiba, D. (2017). Evaluation tools to appraise social media and mobile applications. MDPI.
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/4/3/32
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Collapse SubdiscussionMleh Porter Hello Odion,
Thank you for your post. It provided impressive insights about EHR in your section on the advantages and disadvantages of healthcare information technology trends. One crucial benefit of the EHR system is documentation legibility. Before EHR system use became widespread, legibility was reported as a prime source of medication errors, accounting for more than 60% of medication errors. Many EHR systems have barcode scanning technology, which can alert a nurse that there is a problem if the wrong medication is scanned. Another benefit of the EHR system is that it allows critical lab values to be reported to the healthcare provider in a timely manner, leading to improved patient outcomes (Hoover, 2017). Despite the many benefits, EHRs can be vulnerable to security concerns that may affect the confidentiality and privacy of patient’s personal information. Healthcare organizations must implement physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to complement the security of EHR databases considering all the sensitive information that they contain (Basil et al., 2022). Electronic health records have made great strides in the healthcare industry and have improved productivity, record-keeping, and patient safety. However, it is also important to be mindful of potential data loss and server downtime, as this can cause serious disruptions in patient care (Atasoy et al., 2019). You discussed the importance of finding a balance between doing the right thing and meeting the demands of working in a hospital. It is important to find a balance between doing the right thing and meeting the demands of working in a hospital because it ensures that patient care is not disrupted. Healthcare workers must be able to provide accurate and timely information to their patients, and if the server is down or data is lost, they may not be able to do this. Finding the right balance between doing the right thing and meeting the demands of the hospital will help ensure that healthcare workers can provide the best possible care to their patients.
References
Atasoy, H., Greenwood, B. N., & McCullough, J. S. (2019). The digitization of patient care: a review of the effects of electronic health records on health care quality and utilization. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 487-500. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044206
Basil, N. N., Ambe, S., Ekhator, C., & Fonkem, E. (2022). Health records database and inherent security concerns: A review of the literature. Cureus, 14(10), e30168. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30168
Hoover R. (2017). Benefits of using an electronic health record. Nursing Critical Care, 12(1), 9–10. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ccn.0000508631.93151.8dLinks to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMansong Ntekim Hello Odion,
Thanks for a well-written discussion post. I remember the days when we had to make copies of a patient’s medical records, MAR, and other necessary document to send with any patient going to the hospital or any outside appointment from our facility. It is factual that the paper record system cannot of supply care providers with timely patient information that can be utilize in care process (Thakkar and Davis, 2006). The innovation of EHRs has changed all that. It is now possible to enter a patient information and retrieve all relevant medical records, including pharmacy records within the twinkle of an eye.
I agree that the EHR is a technology trend with the potential of great impact to healthcare. A study of physicians by King, et al, (2013), Seventy eight percent physicians who use EHR reported an overall better patient care, 81% reported easy remote access a patient’s chart, 65% reported that the EHR alerted them to a potential medication error, and 62% reported the system alerting them of critical lab values.
Despite the benefits of the EHR, the risk of data breach through hacking remains a threat of which all healthcare facilities have to guard against.
References
King J, Patel V, Jamoom EW, Furukawa MF. Clinical Benefits of Electronic Health Record Use: National Findings. Health Services Research. 2014 Feb;49(1 Pt 2):392-404. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12135. Epub 2013 Dec 21. PMID: 24359580; PMCID: PMC3925409. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3925409/
Thakkar M, Davis DC. Risks, Barriers, and Benefits of EHR Systems: A Comparative Study Based on Size of Hospital. Perspectives in Health Information Management. 2006 Aug 14;3:5. PMID: 18066363; PMCID: PMC2047303. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2047
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Collapse SubdiscussionSheila Ankrah Initial Post
Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends
Technology and technological advances are here to stay for the foreseeable future, and there is no going back for those uncomfortable with navigating technology. Electronic access to patient information changes how healthcare is practiced (Laureate Education Inc., 2018). The advancement of technology has not only improved the equipment we use in healthcare, but it has also improved the way care is provided by enhancing better patient outcomes, minimizing errors, and improving quality of life. Laureate Education Inc. stated, “patients now have access to their health history because of electronic medical records” (2018). Patients are more involved in their care, such as having access to their medical portal and surgeries becoming less invasive, resulting in quicker recovery. These examples are how technology has advanced care provision.
Healthcare Technology Trends
My hospital has embraced technology as a whole, but I have co-workers who could be better with technology and others who avoid technology at any cost. My hospital’s decision-makers purchased technology to manage our electronic healthcare records, which is the norm around most hospitals in my city. The use of technology to conduct meta-analyses is lovely. Our nurse leaders also use scheduling software to make the schedules for our nursing staff, and the nurse leaders use email and cell phones to communicate with each nurse for confirmation. Also, at the facility I work, I utilize healthcare technology to access, analyze, and display patient information daily. One of the technologies we utilize is Electronic Health Records. With the use of the electronic health record (EHR), we can access, share, and incorporate up-to-date patient information, provide care in a timely and organized manner, reduce mistakes, smoother transition continuation of care, and incorporate all these into the plan of care for our patients. In the future, hospitals will communicate more virtually with patients to decrease the number of in-patients. COVID-19 has forced many medical practices to use virtual communication, and video conferencing can be easy for patients to set up and join (Wong, 2021).
Potential Benefits and Risk associated with data safety
One potential benefit we have with healthcare technology is the ability to share information anywhere, and patients can access their information anywhere they may be. With the massive quantity of communication shared via email and mobile applications, there is a risk that this information could contact the wrong recipient. Our email network and mobile applications are safely encrypted, and information is labeled as protected health information. Even though this additional protection level could stop a potential breach, there is always room for human error, spelling mistakes, and illegal information breaching. We cannot expect all technology to be error-proof, so we must be sure that we are always using safety methods with each healthcare technology. Even though we are provided several technological advances to enhance our patient care practices, we cannot become overly reliant on them to a fault.
Promising Healthcare Trend
The most promising healthcare technology trend that can significantly impact nursing practice is a well-designed patient portal system that can integrate and communicate patient data across multiple platforms. Patient portals can provide the patient with a personal profile of their care team. This can help strengthen the patient-nurse relationship and transparency between the patient and the care team. Patients can use the portal to be involved in developing their plan of care and trend progress. Links for educational material and support groups can be accessed on the patient portal and reinforce any care team’s educational teaching. Bedside patient portals can increase communication, enhance the nurse-patient relationship, and facilitate more effective nursing care during hospitalization and beyond discharge.
There is no doubt that hospitals will have to purchase the right technology for their needs, adequately train their staff on how to use the technology, remove bugs within the technology, and teach the patients how to use the technology through formal education, video tutorials, and one-on-one training (Booth, 2021). Video conferencing can improve the quality of patient care, patient outcomes, and the hospital’s bottom line. However, technology alone cannot solve communication errors, so hospitals will also have to invest in training their staff on techniques that can help them improve their communication skills.
References
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Electronic Records and Managing IT Change (Video file). Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.content.laureate.net/713521cc8e57f17a585752d83d12afb3.html#section_container_20Links to an external site.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Informatics Tools and Technologies (Video file). Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.content.laureate.net/713521cc8e57f17a585752d83d12afb3.html#section_containerLinks to an external site.
Booth, R., Strudwick, G., & Lopez, A. (June 2021). How the Nursing Profession Should Adapt to a Digital Future. Source DOI: 10.1136/BMJ.n1190Links to an external site.
Wong, A., Bhyat, R., & Appireddy, R. (January 2021). Patient Care During the COVID-19
Pandemic: Use of Virtual Care. Source DOI: 10.2196/20621Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionOdion Iseki Hi Sheila,
Great post; I agree with you. There is no turning back for individuals who are uncomfortable with handling technology because it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. The way healthcare is delivered is evolving because of electronic access to patient information (Laureate Education, Inc., 2018). Improved patient outcomes, reduced mistake rates, and a higher quality of life are just a few ways technological progress has impacted healthcare delivery. According to a report by Laureate Education Inc., “patients now have access to their health history because of electronic medical data” (2018). By giving patients greater control over their health, such as giving them access to their medical portal and making surgeries less invasive, doctors can help their patients get better faster. These are some ways that technological advancements have helped improve healthcare delivery.
References
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Electronic Records and Managing IT Change (Video file). Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.content.laureate.net/713521cc8e57f17a585752d83d12afb3.html#section_container_20Links to an external site.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Informatics Tools and Technologies (Video file). Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.content.laureate.net/713521cc8e57f17a585752d83d12afb3.html#section_container
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Collapse SubdiscussionGuoming Feng Hi Sheila,
Great post! I totally agree with you that the wee-designed patient portal system will significantly impact nursing practice. Well-designed patient portals can provide secure, online access to personal health information, such as medication history and current medication using, laboratory results, immunizations, allergies, discharge instructions, and follow-up appointment information. Also, patient portals make communication between patients and their healthcare providers easier through secure messaging. For example, patients can make appointments and request prescription refill requests using their patient portals (Dendere et al., 2019). In the in-patient setting of the hospital where I’m working, we use HealthyVA patient portal, it is helpful for the veterans more involved in their healthcare, understanding the care plans, and improving the efficiency of communication between patient and nurses. Beside technology security and privacy issue, in my opinion, the biggest challenge for the application of patient portals would be for the elderlies who are not familiar with the technology. The patient portals must design to be user-friendly, and the patients must receive adequate training about how to use the patient portals (Son &Nahm, 2019).
Dendere, R., Slade, C., Burton-Jones, A., Sullivan, C., Staib, A., & Janda, M. (2019). Patient Portals Facilitating Engagement With Inpatient Electronic Medical Records: A Systematic Review. Journal of medical Internet research, 21(4), e12779. https://doi.org/10.2196/12779Links to an external site.
Son, H., & Nahm, E. S. (2019). Older Adults’ Experience Using Patient Portals in Communities: Challenges and Opportunities. Computers, informatics, nursing : CIN, 37(1), 4–10. https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000476
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Collapse SubdiscussionColleen Lewis Hi Sheila,
While reading through your post, one of your points resonated with me in particular. We cannot become overly reliant on the advances in patient care technology. There is plenty of room for error, both through mistake by users or errors due to a lack of adequate connection between device and patient. With increased use of the Internet of Things, some challenges in obtaining accurate information arise. For example, one of the challenges is Quality of Service. Body sensors placed on patients may not produce extremely accurate data depending on the quality of their design (Aghdam et al 2021). Accuracy and trustworthiness of the data are a concern that impacts decisions made based on this patient information. Further, systemic failures due to loss of power from environmental circumstances, hardware defects or software troubles also complicate the notion that patient care is improved by these advancements in technology. Yes, there is great opportunity for improved patient outcomes, but users of newer technology involved in patient care must also be very careful before making important decisions about a patients’ treatment based on the data retrieved or transmitted from sensors placed in the patient’s home environment.
The other challenge that came to mind while reading your post is related to the patient portal. At my place of work, along with many others’, patients can now receive real time updates on their phones of lab results done in the hospital. I work in an Emergency Department, and one of the challenges we face as nurses is answering questions about lab results before all the diagnostic testing has resulted. Patients and parents understandably feel the need to be updated immediately, but it puts nurses in a difficult position when managing the care of multiple patients at once. It important to make patients feel heard and seen. When we tell them to wait for the provider to discuss the results, often they begin to do their own research while they wait, which increases patient anxiety and becomes more for the nurse to handle when attending to the needs of many other patients. It’s important patients are also instructed how to use patient portals, as many of them are expected to know how to access them, but some struggle with accessing their information (Son & Nahm 2019).
References
Aghdam, Z. N., Rahmani, A. M., & Hosseinzadeh, M. (2021). The role of the internet of things in healthcare: Future trends and challenges. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 199, 105903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105903Links to an external site.
Son, H., & Nahm, E. S. (2019). Older Adults’ Experience Using Patient Portals in Communities: Challenges and Opportunities. Computers, informatics, nursing : CIN, 37(1), 4–10. https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000476
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Collapse SubdiscussionChristiana Nuworsoo Sheila,
“…there is always room for human error, spelling mistakes, and illegal information breaching.” The
healthcare sector has become very vulnerable to security breaches as more technology is used. In the
span of 15 years (2005-2019), a total data breach of 6355 was found in all sectors of the United
States and 3912 (about 62%) were in the healthcare sector (Seh et al., 2020). As technology evolves,
those that aspire for quality and efficiency must also advance their technologies to meet the growing
demand for ease of work. However, we must be ready and prepared to handle the challenges that
come with these advances.
Regarding your coworkers that do not like technology, they are not alone. According to research
from Eagle Hill Consulting (2021), 37% of healthcare workers say that technology frustrates them, and
19% indicated that technology does not help them be productive at work. I believe the frustration
comes from needing more training with the new technologies being introduced. Nothing is more
frustrating than trying to figure out how something works; it is both time-consuming and takes away
from patient care.
Unless an individual works in an environment where paper charting is still the norm, technology
is part of a nurse’s life and is here to stay. As time goes on, more of our tasks will be technologically
involved. It would be beneficial for institutions to ensure that their employees have enough training to
use these technologies than leave them to fend for themselves. About 28% of healthcare employees
do not believe their company gives them the technical training needed for success (Eagle Hill
Consulting, 2021). I know a few baby boomers that left facilities I have worked because of the
incorporation of technology in our work.
References
Eagle Hill Consulting. (2021, June 08). More than 1/3 of healthcare employees say technology is a
frustration. PRNewswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-13-of-Links to an external site.
301308237.htmlLinks to an external site.
Seh, A. H., Zarour, M., Alenezi, M., Sarkar, A. K., Agrawal, A., Kumar, R., & Ahmad Khan, R. (2020, June).
Healthcare data breaches: insights and implications. In Healthcare (Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 133).
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
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Collapse SubdiscussionRaminder Kaur Description of General Healthcare Technology Trends
Numerous technological advancements in the 21st century aim to entirely transform the nature of care. Electronic health records, artificial intelligence, and telemedicine technology like biosensor tools are among the biggest trends in healthcare. Cowie et al. claim that (2017) electronic health records are digital versions of patient charts that instantly make information about patients, including their treatment and medical history, available to authorized users. These electronic health records assist healthcare providers in sharing patient information and coordinating patient improvement (Barak-Corren et al., 2017). Most healthcare organizations are currently using EHRs, and many have a system that lets patients view their records online. Patients can view their records, schedule appointments, and even send messages to their healthcare providers through my HealtheVet at the facility where I work.
While electronic health records facilitate the immediate dissemination of patient information to authorized users, there is a risk that the data will be insecure and end up with the wrong users or users. When some patients are too ill, it can be difficult for them to exercise control over their information once it is entered into a database. Teaching hospitals have much research that uses patient data, and sometimes they need permission to use this data (Rao-Gupta et al., 2017). One threat that puts this technology’s use in the healthcare system at risk is this. However, my HealtheVet has some difficulties. One main issue is that not all people have internet access. The fact that only some people are tech-savvy presents another obstacle. According to Faverio (2022), approximately 75% of people aged 65 and up use the internet. That leaves ¼ of the more established populace incapable or experiencing difficulties with utilizing my healthevet app. According to many doctors, patients should not be able to access their records. According to D’Costa et al. (2020), doctors worry that allowing patients access to their records could cause unnecessary stress or overwhelm them. My heatheVet also has some advantages. Patients frequently become overwhelmed when all the information is presented to patients at once upon discharge. However, once they are discharged, they can read the information in their records, gain a better understanding of it, and think more clearly. Patients can view their records, schedule appointments, and communicate with their providers using this app. They can still send a message to the provider, who will respond when they return to work, or they can schedule an appointment online.
In terms of patient care, data security, and legislation, the ease with which information from a system can be tracked is one potential advantage of using electronic health records; this indicates that it would be difficult for anyone to misuse the data (Skiba, 2017). It may be challenging to coordinate the system with things that require the conscious consent of the individuals, such as consent for health procedures, in some cases, such as patients who are too ill; this poses a risk for the same. When accessing information online, there is always a possibility of harm. In the healthcare industry, security breaches occur frequently. Over 2100 security breaches have occurred since 2009, costing over $6 trillion, according to Georgiev (2022). The information and money involved here is staggering. The patients’ inability to comprehend the information in their charts poses another threat to patient care. They might become frightened or anxious about something they read due to this. Concerning legislation-related risks, EHR-associated malpractice is a risk. According to D’Amore (n.d.), from 2007 to 2010, there were only two cases of malpractice involving EHRs, but from 2014 to 2016, there were 66 cases.
Telehealth technology is a promising technology that will lead us into the future when I look at the current trends in healthcare. Since the coronavirus outbreak, telehealth has grown in popularity. This system can make it possible for people who cannot leave their homes alone or have difficulty living to see a doctor. With telehealth and all the devices that patients can now use at home to send data to their doctor’s office, the doctor can monitor the patient’s vitals and weight and even listen to their lungs and hearts from the comfort of their home. The provider will be able to receive more information via electronic means as further advancements in this field occur. Requiring people to visit their doctor regularly, even when they cannot leave their homes, will also improve patient care (Gajarawala, 2022).
References:
Barak-Corren, Y., Castro, V. M., Javitt, S., Hoffnagle, A. G., Dai, Y., Perlis, R. H., Nock, M. K., Smoller, J. W., & Reis, B. Y. (2017). Predicting Suicidal Behavior From Longitudinal Electronic Health Records. In American Journal of Psychiatry (Vol. 174, Issue 2, pp. 154–162). American Psychiatric Association Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16010077Links to an external site.
Cowie, M. R., Blomster, J. I., Curtis, L. H., Duclaux, S., Ford, I., Fritz, F., Goldman, S., Janmohamed, S., Kreuzer, J., Leenay, M., Michel, A., Ong, S., Pell, J. P., Southworth, M. R., Stough, W. G., Thoenes, M., Zannad, F., & Zalewski, A. (2016). Electronic health records to facilitate clinical research. In Clinical Research in Cardiology (Vol. 106, Issue 1, pp. 1–9). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-016-1025-6Links to an external site.
D’Amore, P. (n.d.). Patient risks associated with electronic health records. Baltimore Medical Malpractice, Birth Injury, & Accident Attorneys. Retrieved from https://www.damoreinjurylaw.com/blog/patient-risks-associated-with-electronic-health-recordsLinks to an external site.
D’Costa, S. N., Kuhn, I. L., & Fritz, Z. (2020). A systematic review of patient access to medical records in the acute setting: practicalities, perspectives and ethical consequences. In BMC Medical Ethics (Vol. 21, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-020-0459-6Links to an external site.
Faverio, M. (2022, January 13). Share of those 65 and older who are tech users has grown in the past decade. Pew Research Center. Retrived from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/13/share-of-those-65-and-older-who-are-tech-users-has-grown-in-the-past-decade/Links to an external site.
Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth Benefits and Barriers. In The Journal for Nurse Practitioners (Vol. 17, Issue 2, pp. 218–221). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013Links to an external site.
Georgiev, D. (2022, November 26). 25+ alarming healthcare data breaches statistics for 2022. Techjury. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://techjury.net/blog/healthcare-data-breaches-statistics/Links to an external site.
Rao-Gupta, S., Kruger, D., Leak, L. D., Tieman, L. A., & Manworren, R. C. B. (2018). Leveraging Interactive Patient Care Technology to Improve Pain Management Engagement. In Pain Management Nursing (Vol. 19, Issue 3, pp. 212–221). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2017.11.002Links to an external site.
Skiba, D. (2017). Evaluation Tools to Appraise Social Media and Mobile Applications. In Informatics (Vol. 4, Issue 3, p. 32). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics4030032Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionAndrea M Allen Response 2
Hi Reminder,
Thanks for the great read. In response to “patients having access to their health records”, which is a good to enable them to be fully engage with their care. Your article by D’Costa supports this idea stating that verbal report is insufficient and then there is the issue of lack of explanation or summary.
The fact that EHR is now more readily accessible to providers with consent of course, I believe, might help to reduce the need for in depth explanation to patients which may help to alleviate some anxiety. There could even possibly be a “Layman’s” explanation to simplify results in the near future where patients use a certain code to access their results vs the code a provider uses. Hope I am making sense. There is also the ease of patients getting basic information via a portal and access to more in depth explanation or summary given separately for further studies. Just a thought.
D’Costa, S. N., Kuhn, I. L., & Fritz, Z. (2020). A systematic review of patient access to medical records in the acute setting: practicalities, perspectives and ethical consequences. In BMC Medical Ethics (Vol. 21, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-020-0459-6 Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionColleen Lewis Response #2
Hello Raminder,
It’s an interesting point you make about some doctors not wanting their patients to have full access to their chart information electronically. It’s a difficult line to walk, between promoting patient autonomy and overwhelming the patient with information. Furthermore, it can be stressful for some patients to navigate their records without knowledge of how to interpret what they’re reading. Increased information could increase patient trust, but access to the entirety of their record could place an undue sense of responsibility onto the patient (D’Costa et al 2020). If the patient portal through the EHR becomes the primary form of communication of information between patient and provider, a portion of the population could be alienated from receiving the level of care they need. Some patients lack the device or a secure network through which to access information, others have limited health literacy, and others are not very tech savvy to access their records electronically. Interestingly, it seems that older adults are more satisfied with their care when they perceive their care provider to be more adept at utilizing the EHR and communicating health information through this portal, even if they are not very skilled in its use (Cross et al 2021).
Cross, D. A., Levin, Z., & Raj, M. (2021). Patient portal use, perceptions of electronic health record value, and self-rated primary care quality among older adults: Cross-sectional survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(5). https://doi.org/10.2196/22549
D’Costa, S. N., Kuhn, I. L., & Fritz, Z. (2020). A systematic review of patient access to medical records in the acute setting: practicalities, perspectives and ethical consequences. In BMC Medical Ethics (Vol. 21, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-020-0459-6 Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionAdrienne Aasand Module 4, Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends
Description of healthcare technology trends
A healthcare technology trend that has become more available and useful since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic is telehealth. Telehealth includes real-time video visits, telephone visits, interactive technologies to provide health advice, transmitting clinical data and transmitting medical images (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). Telehealth has been available for many years, but in the past barriers to telehealth included reimbursement, connectivity and equipment issues. In March 2020, legislation was created to allow Medicare beneficiaries to use telehealth services to avoid exposure to COVID-19 in the clinics (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). In the oncology clinic where I work, real-time video telehealth visits had not been offered to patients until 2020, and with the arrival of COVID-19 most of the visits not requiring treatment were done via telehealth. Now, three years later, the existing technology has become commonly used among our patients whether they are too ill to come into the clinic, due to inclement weather, or if they live in a rural area making travel to the clinic difficult. In addition to provider visits via telehealth, nurse-to-patient communication via telehealth has also increased. Patients are using the patient portal to communicate with nurses about topics such as treatment side effects, disease symptoms or medication questions.
Challenges associated with telehealth visits
Challenges of using telehealth visits include insurance coverage of the visit, internet and device access, cross-state licensing of providers, and patients’ ability to use the technology.
Prior to March 2020, Medicare coverage of telehealth visits was limited to patients who live in rural areas and only allowed telehealth visits for patients with established providers. After March 1, 2020 due to the national public health emergency caused by COVID-19, Medicare and Medicaid expanded telehealth coverage to patients living in all areas of the country and in all settings, and patients no longer were required to have an established relationship with the provider (Carr, 2020). This expanded coverage was created to help prevent the spread of the virus and keep patients out of clinics and emergency rooms.
In our clinic, we have a large geriatric population. Over fifty percent of all cancer cases are associated with individuals age sixty-five or older and one quarter of this group are living in rural areas. As a result, the cost and burden of traveling to healthcare appointments means this population often goes without medical care (Chien et al., 2020). Unfortunately, this demographic often does not have access to a device such as an iPad or computer that will allow them to access a telehealth visit. And if they do have a device, they often lack the knowledge to log in and connect to their telehealth visit. In the United States, over 30 million people lack broadband internet, including 39% of those living in rural areas (Chien et al., 2020).
In addition, our clinic is located in Minnesota, but near the Wisconsin boarder. Therefore, we have many patients who live in Wisconsin. In the United States, nurses are required to be licensed to practice in each of the states in which they provide telehealth (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). Some states have enacted a licensure compact allowing nurses to practice across state lines, but Minnesota and Wisconsin do not allow this so all nurses in our clinic must be licensed in both states. Licensing in both states is also required for the providers.
Benefit and risk of data safety, legislation, and patient care
With the increased use of telehealth, there is an increasing need for cybersecurity and privacy. During the first half of 2019, an estimated 28 million health records were breached by hacking. Hackers can remotely access medical records and can disrupt health care operations, increasing patient safety risk (Perakslis & Ginsburg, 2021). In addition, telehealth monitoring and surveillance increases this privacy risk as it reveals the location of patients and can lead to burglary and physical tracking. And the more devices, accounts and networks used by each patients increases the risk (Perakslis & Ginsburg, 2021).
The major benefit of using telehealth is to improve health outcomes in underserved areas. Telemedicine has the potential to overcome health inequities. In addition, telehealth gives patients more control over their care. Instead of choosing between an in person visit or no care, the patient has the third option of a virtual visit. When patients have more control over their healthcare, they have more positive feelings about the healthcare system in general and their health outcomes are likely to be better. Another way telehealth benefits patient care is by making healthcare more efficient. It is less likely that a patient will have to wait days to get in for a visit if they are seen via telehealth. Reduced waiting times can also improve patient safety by providing time-sensitive treatments earlier and reducing the risk of complications (Parsons, 2021).
Which trends are most promising?
Telehealth impacts nursing practice by allowing nurses to evaluate and assess patients without patients needing to travel to the clinic, giving patients cost-effective, comprehensive care in a timelier manner. Whether it is via phone, real-time video visits or messaging patients now have numerous ways to communicate with nurses. Nurses can provide medication or disease management education, evaluate images of wounds, evaluate data from remote monitoring devices, and more all without the patient coming to the clinic. In addition to these telehealth nursing services, a promising trend in telehealth is mobile health, making care from home even more convenient for patients. Now there are “numerous apps that target specific illnesses and provide a platform for management at a distance” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022, p. 414).
Contribution of telehealth to patient care outcomes
Telehealth has the possibility of transforming how we meet the health care needs of the cancer patients we care for. Many patients are too sick or weak to come into the clinic for a visit, and without the availability of telehealth visits and communication tools patients would be left alone to deal with their treatment side effects and disease symptoms. Patients with chronic diseases are at significant risk of having an acute episode when subtle changes in their condition occur. The ability to identify these changes in a timely fashion allows the nurse or provider to change medications or treatments quickly. This additional communication and monitoring often prevents an Emergency Room visit for these patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). For example, a patient diagnosed with colon cancer sends a portal message to the clinic nurse describing new nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain. With assessment via telehealth, the nurse determines that the patient is at high risk for a bowel obstruction and is able to arrange for a CT scan and direct admission to the hospital, avoiding an unnecessary emergency room visit. This is just one example of how telehealth can provide a cost-effective, timely care for patients and provide life-saving patient outcomes.
References
Carr, E. (2020). eHealth During a Pandemic. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 24, 3. https://doi.org/10.1188/20.CJON.S1.3
Chien, L., Roberts, E., Soto-Perez-de-Celis, E., Katheria, V., Hite, S., Tran, R., Bhatt, D., Donner, A., Burhenn, P., Charles, K., Fernandes Dos Santos Hughes,
S., Dale, W.
Vazquez, J., Mitani, D., Sedrak, M. & Li, D. (2020). Telehealth in geriatric oncology: A novel approach to deliver multidisciplinary care for older adults with
cancer. Journal of Geriatric Oncology, 11(2), 197-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgo.2019.06.011
McGonigle, D. & Mastrian, K. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Parsons, J. (2021). The telemedical imperative. Bioethics, 35(4), 298-306. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12847
Perakslis, E. & Ginsburg, G. (2021). Digital health: The need to assess benefits, risks and value. JAMA, 325(2), 127-128.
https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.22919
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Collapse SubdiscussionMaxine A Lewis Thank you Adrienne for your very informative post. Addressing the SDOH and telemedicine in relation to the elderly is very important as most adult are pre smartphones, computers and set in their ways. There are elderly without family or caregivers to assist with telehealth/visits and get even more frustrated with the task of electronic sign in and data collection. So often I accompanied my parents to an office visit and observed the frustration on an elderly individuals face as they fiddle with the iPad. I offer my assistance some gladly accepts but others are suspicious (for valid reasons). Strategic and appropriate digital strategy implementation can help avoid inequities that promote digital divides among older adults across disease severity and socioeconomic distributions (Gonzalez, Bhatt and Pagliaro, 2021). How can we level the playing field for the elderly and technology (tele-visits etc.)? According to Ikram et.al challenges and strategies to make teleheath relevant for the elderly are 1). Patients without internet access or proper devices should be given the devices and instruct then on usage; 2) Patient with medical condition which hinders their use of telehealth -enlist family members and caregivers or nurse coach to assist in the visits; 3). Patient with the technology but limited experience in usage – send staff members out to assist patient in a mock video visit. Effective strategies must be put in places in order for the elderly to benefit from telemedicine.
References
Ikram U., Gallani S., Figueroa J.F., and Feeley T.W. November 24, 2020, 4 Strategies to Make
Telehealth Work for Elderly Patients, Harvard Buisness Review.,https://healthsolutions.fitbit.com/wp-content/uploads/HBR-Telehealth_Fitbit.pdfGonzalez, S., B. Bhatt, A., Pagliaro, J.A. (2021). Optimizing Telehealth for Special Populations and Closing the Digital Divide: Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Virtual Care. In: Bhatt, A.B. (eds) Healthcare Information Technology for Cardiovascular Medicine. Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81030-6_8
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Collapse SubdiscussionOluyemi Adeagbo Hi Adrienne,
Your prompt does well to highlight crucial facets in trends related to healthcare information technology, such as telehealth. Telehealth indeed became quite beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing physical contact while utilizing data transmission and interactive technologies (Ali & El Ansari, 2022). I like how you have explained on the benefits of telehealth in easing nurse-to-patient and patient-to-nurse communication. Similarly, as with every developing technology, exposure risks exist as well as technology limitations for demographic populations that cannot access telehealth-compatible communication devices or lack the know-how. I, therefore, view the necessity for healthcare organizations to boost patient awareness of telehealth usage which encompasses the procedures, risks, and benefits. With improving technology and security features, the healthcare industry stands to profit in the coming years, especially in telehealth gaining more patient-specific tools that help in diagnosis (Wright, 2022).
References
Ali, S. A., & El Ansari, W. (2022). Patient-reported orofacial-dental pain severity and tele-triage decisions during COVID-19 pandemic: Does the severity of pain drive tele-triage decisions? BMC Oral Health, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-022-02340-wLinks to an external site.
Wright, A. J. (2022). Tele-health and clinical assessment (tele-assessment). Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-91497-0.00051-5Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionRaminder Kaur Hi Adrienne, Nice Post!
Telemedicine is a trend in healthcare technology that has grown in popularity and accessibility since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The delivery of health care education and information is known as telemedicine (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021). Telemedicine uses various methods, including email, video chat, telephone, and remote devices. Nowadays, many providers only work remotely or split their time between in-person and telemedicine visits. Patients’ data can be shared quickly using telemedicine.
One advantage of telemedicine is that many patients who cannot travel to a medical facility can still receive treatment. Another benefit of telemedicine is that doctors can use telehealth appointments to prescreen patients for infectious diseases to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the flu, and other infectious diseases. Additionally, it prevents sick individuals from having to visit the office. Everyone benefits from avoiding germs spread by others, particularly those chronically ill, pregnant, elderly, or immunocompromised (William, 2022). Respondents pointed to the primary drawbacks of telemedicine such as the inability to use hands-on expertise and the difficulty in diagnosing during the virtual clinic due to the absence of a physical exam.
Additionally, one of the drawbacks cited by our respondents is the apprehension that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in sudden shifts in practice; this is primarily because of the dramatic shift to virtual clinics caused by the pandemic’s national lockdown and social isolation in Saudi Arabia. In addition, because most of their patients are elderly individuals with limited technological skills, physicians are still unsure whether their patients would utilize telemedicine technology. Some patients may not know about telemedicine as a choice or how to use it (Mubaraki, Alrabie, Sibyani, Aljuaid & Bajaber, 2021).
References
Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth benefits and barriers. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 17(2), 218-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013Links to an external site.
Mubaraki, A. A., Alrabie, A. D., Sibyani, A. K., Aljuaid, R. S., Bajaber, A. S., & Mubaraki, M. A. (2021). Advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic era among physicians in Taif, Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Medical Journal (Vol. 42, Issue 1, pp. 110–115). Saudi Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2021.1.25610Links to an external site.
William, B. (2022, January 18). Benefits of telemedicine. Benefits of Telemedicine | Johns Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/Benefits-of-TelemedicineLinks to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionJamee Renee Linnenbrink Adrienne,
I enjoyed your post. The utilization of telehealth has definitely increased since COVID. At a clinic where I work, one of the providers specifically only wants to see COVID positive patients via telehealth and have to be tested outside of the clinic before coming in for their appointment time. This leads to the question of how much is being missed on telehealth visits when you are not physically examining the patient. Providers assume a greater risk of misdiagnosis through telehealth (Worthy, 2020).
As you mentioned, telehealth has many benefits as well. It has the opportunity to reach people that may not have gotten health care otherwise. It can help decrease the spread of COVID and other viral illnesses. Telehealth may continue to develop and be able to provide a more personal evaluation for each patient (Battineni et al, 2021). Telehealth has come a long way in 10 years. We could see it become much more in the next 10 years.
Jamee
References
Battineni, G., Sagaro, G. G., Chintalapudi, N., & Amenta, F. (2021). The benefits of telemedicine in personalized prevention of cardiovascular
diseases (CVD): A systematic review. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 11(7), 658.
Worthy, H. (2020). The New Norm in Healthcare: Telehealth. Charleston L. Rev., 15, 549.
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Collapse SubdiscussionGuoming Feng Good evening, Adrienne!
Thank you for your informatic post! I have been doing research online about telehealth, not because I need the research for this class discussion but also because I’ve been interesting about doing telehealth practice in the future. Research shows that telehealth was born far before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pandemic has prompted the application of telehealth (Ftouni, et al., 2022). For example, in the VA medical system, telehealth has been an independent department serving our veterans for years before the pandemic. Telemedicine is an efficient communication tool employed between healthcare providers and patients. The benefits of Telehealth include but not limited to cost-effectiveness, improving access and timeliness of care, improving emergency preparedness, and reducing provider-patient supply-demand mismatch. The challenges of telehealth also obviously including widening disparities in care, patient data security, and overutilization or misuse of care (Mahtta, et al., 2021).
The telehealth licensing issue in Minnesota and Wisconsin that you are describing in your post makes me realize that, how important it is for the telehealth’s development getting support by policies and regulators. According to Weigel et al. (2021), there are many of telehealth laws and regulations determine “who can deliver which telemedicine services to whom, in what location, in what fashion, and how they will be reimbursed. The federal government regulates reimbursement and coverage of telemedicine for Medicare and self-insured plans, while Medicaid and fully insured private plans are largely regulated on a state-by-state basis” with the support of the laws and regulations, the telehealth will have very bright future.
Ftouni, R., AlJardali, B., Hamdanieh, M., Ftouni, L., & Salem, N. (2022). Challenges of Telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 22(1), 207. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-022-01952-0Links to an external site.
Mahtta, D., Daher, M., Lee, M. T., Sayani, S., Shishehbor, M., & Virani, S. S. (2021). Promise and Perils of Telehealth in the Current Era. Current cardiology reports, 23(9), 115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-021-01544-wLinks to an external site.
Gabriela Weigel, A. R. (2021, March 17). Opportunities and barriers for telemedicine in the U.S.. during the COVID-19 emergency and beyond. KFF. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/opportunities-and-barriers-for-telemedicine-in-the-u-s-during-the-covid-19-emergency-and-beyond/
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Collapse SubdiscussionIrvin Michael Jones Healthcare Technology Data Trends
Due to the rapidly changing healthcare environment, there is a large demand for improved efficiency in providing quality healthcare in every healthcare setting. Fortunately, healthcare technology has continued to evolve at a rapid pace to keep up with the demands of the healthcare environment that has changed considerably since the first diagnosis of COVID-19. Since the global pandemic started there has been numerous issues that have come up that required some type of intervention in order to provide safe quality patient care. Healthcare technology adaptations have significantly helped to navigate healthcare facilities through the pandemic. Dykes et al. (2017) states that utilizing tools such as checklists and EHR data is beneficial in establishing adherence to new healthcare technology. Although it is important to utilize new healthcare technology, it is also important to ensure that staff are able to utilize it correctly to facilitate organizational change. One healthcare technology trend in particular that has become a staple in my organization is the use of telehealth. This healthcare technology trend has been crucial for delivering quality patient care to those who are unable to see their providers in person due to health concerns or ease of access. In the beginning of the pandemic, it was not uncommon for many patients as well as providers to select telehealth to avoid putting themselves at risk for COVID-19 by visiting a healthcare facility.
Benefits and Challenges
In my current healthcare organization, the use of telehealth has become a common practice for all of our patients. Due to COVID-19 many healthcare providers have opted to use telehealth to see their patients without putting themselves or the patient at risk for COVID-19. This was incredibly useful for healthcare providers that work at multiple facilities as well so that they can see patients in person in one facility while seeing others virtually at another. Rak (2021) states that there are clear advantages to being able to provide remote diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment to patients via telehealth however there are also many potential challenges. One of the major challenges has been maintaining HIPAA compliance when utilizing mobile devices to initiate the collection of healthcare data and the dissemination of PHI such as medical diagnosis. Many healthcare organizations including my own have implemented policies to ensure staff members who are assisting with telehealth appointments are doing so utilizing encrypted forms of communication. For example, my organization purchased a module within the EHR to allow for providers and nurses to send secure messages directly to patients. Another issue that can develop is incomplete assessments due to not being able to palpate or auscultate through telehealth appointments. In many cases, healthcare providers may request a follow up appointment that takes place in person to address any assessment concerns. Lastly, telehealth may not be appropriate for patients who are not comfortable utilizing technology to complete their appointment. Despite these potential challenges, telehealth has made a major positive impact on healthcare by increasing accessibility to potential patients.
Promising Healthcare Technology Trends
Telehealth has and continues to show promise that it will be a major contributing component to providing quality care. This technology trend has allowed organizations to see additional patients and increase access to care for many patient populations. With the use of this technology trend, it is important to educate patients on the proper use of telehealth. Many organizations assume that patients understand how to access telehealth portals or that they know what to expect during the appointments. Skiba (2017) states with the ongoing use of healthcare technology tools to provide care, healthcare professionals should be trained on how to appropriately use these tools, and healthcare organizations should educate its patients on them as well to improve digital literacy. If we are able to increase patients’ digital literacy then this could increase the amount of patients willing to utilize this service and ultimately increase access to patient care.
References
Dykes, P. C., Rozenblum, R., Dalal, A., Massaro, A., Chang, F., Clements, M., Collins, S., Bates, D. W. (2017). Prospective evaluation of a
multifaceted intervention to improve outcomes in intensive care: The Promoting Respect and Ongoing Safety Through Patient
Engagement Communication and Technology Study. Critical Care Medicine, 45(8), e806–e813. doi:10.1097/CCM.0000000000002449
Rak, R. (2021). Internet of Everything in Healthcare: Reconciling the Risks and Benefits of Data Sharing in IoT-Enabled Telehealth
Environments. 2021 Eighth International Conference on EDemocracy & EGovernment (ICEDEG), EDemocracy & EGovernment (ICEDEG), 2021
Eighth International Conference On, 223–225. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICEDEG52154.2021.9530853
Skiba, D. (2017). Evaluation tools to appraise social media and mobile applications. Informatics, 4(3), 32–40.
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Collapse SubdiscussionAndrea M Allen Hi Irvin,
Great read. Another issues I see with Telehealth is the ability to misdiagnose patients. There are are a number of symptoms that mimics other illnesses and the inability to do a proper assessment in searching for certain diseases, which may be a cause for concern. According to (Xiang & Bernard 2021), One of the major challenges of Telehealth is the limitation in the ability to complete a remote neurologic exam especially when evaluating sensation, reflexes, tone, motor strength, and optic nerve function. Without a reliable way to for a remote neurologist to evaluate sensation, tone, reflexes, motor strength, optic nerve function and fundoscopy, the concern poses a risk to patients for misdiagnosis and mismanagement. It may even be time consuming and costly if a lack of proper neurological exam requires over use or over dependence on neuroimaging and other diagnostic test that could have been prevented with a proper and complete assessment of patients. Until further research is done and ways to include all illnesses, Telehealth will be beneficial for some but not all in making a successful diagnosis I believe.
Best,
Xiang, X. &. Bernard, J. (2021). Telehealth in Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Care and Research. Curr Neural Neuroscience Rep ( 21). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-021-01103-4Links to an external site.
Malliaras, P., Merolli, M. […], and Barton, C. (2021). ‘It’s not hands-on therapy, so it’s very limited’: Telehealth use and views among allied health clinicians during the coronavirus pandemic. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. Doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2021.102340
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Collapse SubdiscussionKatrina Brooks Hi Irvin,
I agree that telehealth shows promise that it will be a major contributing component to providing quality care. Patients are able to receive a variety of treatments through telehealth such as mental health treatment, prescription management, skin conditions,follow up appointments, etc. “Virtual visits ensure you get health care wherever you are located – at home, at work or even in your car” (What is Telehealth, 2022). Telehealth has been a major help because it decreases time off from work travel time, the need for a babysitter and for the elderly it can include family members who assist with care who may not be able to attend in office appointments.
While there are many benefits there are also challenges. One of the challenges with telehealth is that the patient must have a reliable internet connection. During the pandemic “poor internet connection and lack of universal access to technology were among the technical barriers” (Ftouni et al, 2022).
References
Ftouni, R., AlJardali, B., Hamdanieh, M., Ftouni, L., & Salem, N. (2022, August 3). Challenges of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. BMC medical informatics and decision making. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9351100/#:~:text=Poor%20internet%20connection%20and%20lack,the%20use%20of%20telemedicine%20tooLinks to an external site..
What is telehealth? Telehealth.HHS.gov. (2022, June 29). https://telehealth.hhs.gov/patients/understanding-telehealth/Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMleh Porter Hello Irvin,
I completely agree with you that telehealth has been an incredibly useful resource in healthcare, especially in the current climate. It has allowed providers to treat patients safely while also providing more access to healthcare services (Usoh et al., 2022). In addition to the benefits you mentioned, telehealth can help reduce current healthcare spending in the United States by combating issues such as the misuse of medications, unnecessary emergency department visits, and prolonged hospital stays (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021). As you have pointed out, however, a few potential challenges need to be addressed to ensure a successful telehealth experience. The measures outlined, such as utilizing encrypted forms of communication and follow-up appointments, are great steps in maintaining (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance and providing complete assessments. Another challenge is that the rules and regulations guiding telehealth are different for each state and constantly changing, which could create unclear understandings of the standards and guidelines among healthcare organizations. To prevent any compliance issues, healthcare providers must familiarize themselves with the guidelines of telehealth in their practice states (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021). As technology continues to evolve, these challenges can be addressed, and telehealth will become even more successful in the future.
References
Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth benefits and barriers. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners: JNP, 17(2), 218–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013
Usoh, C. O., Kilen, K., Keyes, C., Johnson, C. P., & Aloi, J. A. (2022). Telehealth technologies and their benefits to people with diabetes. Diabetes Spectrum, 35(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.2337/dsi21-0017Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionOdion Iseki Hi Irvin,
You have picked a critical point; I find it insightful and well-explained. Improved efficiency in providing high-quality healthcare is in high demand across all healthcare settings because of the industry’s dynamic nature. Since the initial diagnosis of COVID-19, healthcare technology has advanced quickly, meeting the needs of a healthcare environment that has altered significantly. Since the beginning of the global pandemic, many problems have necessitated action to continue providing safe, high-quality patient care. Adaptations in healthcare technology have been crucial in assisting healthcare facilities in surviving the epidemic. According to Dykes et al. (2017), checklists and electronic health records (EHR) data are valuable tools for promoting the consistent use of innovative healthcare solutions.
As vital as adopting cutting-edge healthcare technology, it is equally crucial to guarantee that personnel is competent in its proper application to allow necessary organizational change.
It is no secret that telehealth is one of my company’s most popular and pervasive new developments in healthcare IT.
Patients who, for various reasons, cannot physically visit their doctors have significantly benefited from this development in healthcare IT. Patients and doctors often choose telemedicine early in the epidemic to avoid potentially contracting COVID-19 when visiting a healthcare facility.References
Dykes, P. C., Rozenblum, R., Dalal, A., Massaro, A., Chang, F., Clements, M., Collins, S., Bates, D. W. (2017). Prospective evaluation of a
multifaceted intervention to improve outcomes in intensive care: The Promoting Respect and Ongoing Safety Through Patient
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Collapse SubdiscussionColleen Lewis Initial post – Challenges and Benefits of Trends in Healthcare Technology
Trends in healthcare technology have the goal of enhancing patient care, reducing risk and error, improving patient outcomes, and making healthcare more accessible to populations that are difficult to reach. Since the onset of the global pandemic, many tech and healthcare companies have worked at finding solutions to the challenges and problems caused by the pandemic. Some trends are telemedicine, internet of things (IoT), and wearable devices.
Remote monitoring of patients has many benefits including improved clinical management and reduction in manpower. Not only does remote monitoring allow healthcare providers to receive notification of changes in a patient’s condition, but it also empowers patients to feel involved in the management of their own health. Challenges of using remote monitoring devices include ensuring data transmitted from the remote device to the healthcare providers system remains protected. The use of cloud computing has also presented a challenge in security of data, as it works differently from traditional security models and controls. Ensuring client-side encryption of data, multi factor authentication, and data loss prevention protocols is essential to protecting patient information (McGonigle & Mastrian 2022). Another challenge for healthcare staff is processing the large volume of data, which has been managed in part by use of third-party platforms (Harvey & Seiler 2022).
Improvements in home monitoring devices, namely wearables and implantable devices for management of chronic conditions are a current trend in healthcare. Devices that can be implanted, worn, or have remote sensors can help to cut costs in healthcare and improve management of these patients from their home.
Devices that can be worn, called wearables, allow for remote monitoring and data collection. For example, there’s a smartwatch by Omron that tracks heart rate, steps, and blood pressure. Abnormal vital signs send an alert to the physician. “Physicians can then alert patients to take an extra dose of medication; or data from the device can help doctors better understand behavior that triggered the alert” (Giordano 2021). Another wearable device monitors epilepsy and detects seizures. Not only does the monitor improve tracking of seizures, but it also has the potential to improve the quality of life for people with epilepsy. In a study by Olsen at al. (2021), Wearables legitimize the experience of epileptics and can lead to improved acknowledgement from medical professionals, family, and friends (p 2). Certain advancements in wearables focus on making the devices less noticeable, more user friendly, and more adaptable to needs of daily living.
Implantables are devices that are implanted into some part of the body and give real time data. One example of such is the Dexcom, a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), which monitors blood glucose every couple of minutes and transmits the data to a device. This helps to improve outcomes for diabetic patients who might otherwise not check their blood sugar levels as often as they should. Also, in the event of illness when the blood glucose might be very high or very low, the patient can see what their level is and correct it prior to becoming symptomatic.
There are other devices that can predict and monitor health conditions, such as the HeartLogic, embedded into a CRT-D cardiac device that tracks changes in a patients’ body to detect worsening heart failure (Giordano 2021). Heart failure patients monitored by implantable devices are more likely to receive timely clinical intervention. A recent heart failure detection algorithm discussed in Ezer et al (2022) seemed “accurate enough to predict an upcoming heart failure event with sensitivity of about 86.5% and specificity of 93%” (p 2). With continuous monitoring and consequently less time to intervention, this could reduce the number of patients hospitalized for heart failure.
Decentralizing medicine through use of remote patient monitoring can lower overall costs and improve personalization of patient care, especially for populations that are hard to serve. In July of 2022, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed payment rates for billing of outpatient services that include codes for remote therapeutic monitoring (Giordano 2021) Results from a survey through Current Health reported “89 percent of health systems plan to use more remote patient monitoring over the next year…[and] 81 percent of respondents expect their organizations to increase investments in remote care technology in the next 12 months” (Giordano 2021). Continued efforts to enhance functionality of these devices and more efficient processing of data can lead to improved patient outcomes.
References
Giordano, Geoff (2021). Bring it home. Plastics Engineering, 77(9), 20–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/peng.20582Links to an external site.
Harvey, M., & Seiler, A. (2022). Challenges in managing a Remote Monitoring Device Clinic. Heart Rhythm O2, 3(1), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hroo.2021.12.002
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing Informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Olsen, L. S., Nielsen, J. M., Simonÿ, C., Kjær, T. W., & Beck, M. (2021). Wearables in real life: A qualitative study of experiences of people with epilepsy who use home seizure monitoring devices. Epilepsy & Behavior, 125, 108398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108398Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionErica Schulte Erica Schulte – Response #2 – Colleen Lewis
Hello Colleen, thanks for posting! As you note, the growing trend of telehealth in general but also the remote patient monitoring and other wearable devices is really taking off! The recent pandemic certainly helped springboard this trend as technology had been on the verge but the push to utilize beyond current processes came with COVID 19 (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). Some of the other really beneficial outcomes of some of these devices is that it has resulted in an increased engagement and interest in maintaining health and wellness by the patients (Graham & Jones, 2020). Which, in turn has helped reduced hospital time.
References
Graham, C. M., & Jones, N. (2020). Impact of IOT on Geriatric Telehealth. Working with Older People, 24(3), 231–243. https://doi.org/10.1108/wwop-04-2020-0012
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). 18/ Introduction. In Nursing Informatics and the foundation of knowledge (pp. 403–403). essay, Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionBarkisu Fortenberry Post a brief description of general healthcare technology trends, particularly related to data/information you have observed in use in your healthcare organization or nursing practice.
The most helpful healthcare technology trend in the healthcare organization I work for is electronic health records. Technology brought electronic health records, which have been improved to fit various healthcare needs of the organization and growing changes in the healthcare system. The electronic health record is a real-time chart with patient medical-related information that healthcare professionals can access and retrieve easily while patients can use to track their overall health status (Tayefi et al., 2021). The electronic health record contains various health information, including the patient demographic, tests and diagnostics, medical history, food, drug allergies, and procedures they have undergone.
The hospital I work for allows authorized personnel to access the electronic health records charts and share them with other authorized persons, including the physicians and other healthcare team members. Often patient information, including medical history, is taken when they are admitted for the first time. That information is updated as the patient continues to receive care at the facility. When the patient visits the hospital subsequently, the previously entered or stored data is easily retrieved and updated based on their complaints and the treatment they will be given (Dinh-Le et al., 2019). The healthcare professional attending to the patient would only need to log into the secured electronic health records to obtain previous patient health information.
Describe any potential challenges or risks that may be inherent in the technologies associated with these trends you described.
While the electronic health record has had many benefits, the organization I work with is not exploiting all the benefits adequately. For instance, the organization’s departments use a different system instead of using one system across the departments. This means that the lab technicians can access the specific electronic health record system they use. The same is true for the emergency departments which use the Medi Tech system. In addition, most nurses have access to all these systems, but healthcare professionals in these specific departments, such as lab technicians, do not have access to some of the systems. If the system is similar for the whole hospital, that could increase efficiency (Dinh-Le et al., 2019). However, I am waiting to hear colleagues’ opinions on the same because I do not understand why each department has its system.
Then, describe at least one potential benefit and one potential risk associated with data safety, legislation, and patient care for the technologies you described.
As said earlier, one of the benefits of electronic health records is that it enables patients to easily track their health status and treatment progress at the convenience of their home and can be monitored remotely. For instance, we follow patients with diabetes remotely, following up on their adherence to medications, how they inject the insulin, whether they change the injection site, and their adherence to self-care activities (Dinh-Le et al., 2019). So whenever I want to confirm the treatment a patient was put on or their blood sugar, I easily take my phone and open the chart where the blood sugar recordings are t medication the patients should receive and other instructions. I can also meet with patients remotely and ask them about their progress and areas where they need help. The rise of electronic health records brought telemedicine, which enables not only remote interaction but also quicker sharing of information and offloading hospitals a load of too many patients lining up for care in the accident and emergency rooms when their conditions can be cared for adequately and complications leading them to urgent cases prevented (Shahnaz et al., 2019). We learned a lot during COVID-19, which are eye-openers in terms of investing in telemedicine to reduce dependency on traditional care approaches encouraging physical interaction.
One significant risk that electronic health record faces in the organization are cyber-attacks on patient-protected health information. Hospitals have been attacked in the past, and we have seen how a hospital can be held ransom by such cyber theft (Dinh-Le et al., 2019). While we have been so lucky that the cybercriminals have not flagged our systems, there was a time they almost succeeded. They held our system at ransom but did not access the protected patient health information, and most services had to stop. We also had to turn to paperwork whenever there were blackouts.
Describe whether this promise will improve patient care outcomes, efficiencies, or data management. Be specific and provide examples. Next, explain which healthcare technology trends you believe are most promising for impacting healthcare technology in nursing practice.
The ineffective communication, lack of adequate patient health information, and inability to share information before electronic health records were associated with delays in care, and ineffectiveness, that eventually led to low quality and potentially harmful care. All these have been reduced by the use of electronic health record systems, which have enabled the easy sharing of patient health information leading to more individualized and preventive care. In addition, people for a long time have been encouraged to take charge of their health. The electronic health record system through MYChart helped patients track their health by simply logging in and out when they wanted to check the progress of their health status. Still, I caution that electronic health record systems must be used with much caution. Healthcare professionals must be able to ensure patient privacy, confidentiality, and protection of their information is a personal responsibility because it is one thing that can break the whole institution (Shahnaz et al., 2019).
References
Dinh-Le, C., Chuang, R., Chokshi, S., & Mann, D. (2019). Wearable health technology and electronic health record integration: scoping review and future directions. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(9), e12861. https://mhealth.jmir.org/2019/9/e12861/Links to an external site.
Shahnaz, A., Qamar, U., & Khalid, A. (2019). Using blockchain for electronic health records. IEEE Access, 7, 147782-147795. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8863359/
Tayefi, M., Ngo, P., Chomutare, T., Dalianis, H., Salvi, E., Budrionis, A., & Godtliebsen, F. (2021). Challenges and opportunities beyond structured data in analysis of electronic health records. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Statistics, 13(6), e1549. https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wics.1549Links to an external site.
Edited by Barkisu Fortenberry on Jan 4 at 6:14pm-
Collapse SubdiscussionSimranjeet Brar Barkisu,
Your post is very thorough and descriptive. I really enjoyed reading it as it covers all of the topics asked in discussion post which includes benefits and potential risks of electronic health records. The way healthcare professionals interact, record, and examine patient data has been significantly altered by electronic health records (EHRs). Medical mistakes have been reduced thanks to EHRs, which have also improved patient outcomes by enabling professional teams to view the same data. The capacity of EHRs to use artificial intelligence (AI) to absorb data and infer information useful for patient diagnosis is what makes them so exciting. Utilizing this data and conducting research can help shape how we will deliver care in the future (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).
EHRs include significant data on things like age, way of life, comorbidities, medicines, and family history. These data may be analyzed by artificial intelligence to assist healthcare professionals in making quick choices and enhancing patient outcomes (Jiang, 2017). A new age in healthcare is being established by AI’s capacity to use algorithms to monitor, diagnose, and treat patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).
Unfortunately, data security is not perfect. Healthcare data breaches are on the increase and more likely to occur than in other sectors, such as banking (HIPAA Journal, 2022). The finding by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) that human error accounts for more than half of all security breaches is more intriguing (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). This is a result of staff members’ negligence, carelessness, and lack of software experience (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).
References
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Journal. (2022, August 26). Healthcare data breach statistics. HIPAA Journal. https://www.hipaajournal.com/healthcare-data-breach-statistics/Links to an external site.Links to an external site.
Jiang, F., Jiang, Y., Zhi, H., Dong, Y., Li, H., Ma, S., Wang, Y., Dong, Q., Shen, H. & Wang, Y. (2017). Artificial intelligence in healthcare: past, present, and future. Stroke and Vascular Neurology. doi:10.1136/svn-2017-000101
McGonigle, D. & Mastrian, K.G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionBenedicta Kwevie Main Post
General healthcare technology trends observed in use in Healthcare organization
In the past decade or so, healthcare and technology upcoming technology have merged. More recently, the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic pushed technology companies to venture into the healthcare space and healthcare companies into the tech space (Marr, 2022). Various trends have emerged in healthcare technology, including the Internet of Medical Things (IOMT), Telehealth, cloud computing, and machine learning, among others.
My organization uses a cloud-based electronic health record (EHR) system known as CERNER for our in-patients. This is where the patient’s medical information is stored and can be accessed by the facility staff while providing care.
Our out-patients also can sign up for telemedicine services, which is where they can access Healthcare without physically coming into the facility.
Potential challenges or risks associated with the trends described
With the healthcare industry still playing catch-up when it comes to technology integration (Kruse et al., 2017), breach of patient data becomes a potential challenge with the use of EHR systems. There is always the risk that any unscrupulous persons can get into the system and access private patient information.
When we look at the telemedicine aspect as another side to it, there is the risk of losing pertinent patient information stemming from miscommunication. For instance, if a patient is relaying information to their Healthcare provider and one party loses internet or cellular connection, valuable information the patient thinks they have conveyed may not be received by the provider. This could potentially lead to misdiagnosis or mismanagement of the condition.
Potential benefits and risks associated with data safety
Some telemedicine services provide basic health care and information without requiring any identifying data from the client. This becomes a potential benefit as data safety concerns are eliminated from the get-go. Since telemedicine is primarily an online service, a potential risk is the denial of service (such as no internet or cellular service) occurring to either of the parties involved, interrupting communication between the patient and their provider. A potential benefit of the EHR system is the convenience of multiple healthcare providers accessing patient records simultaneously without a physical document being carted around, decreasing the risk of the wrong persons seeing confidential patient data. On the other hand, a potential risk is hackers gaining access to multiple patients’ sensitive data, compromising their security and privacy.
Which Healthcare technology trends are most promising
Wearable technology and Health trackers can be promising for impacting nursing practice because they are portable, not cumbersome, and more convenient for use by both patients and their healthcare providers. Wearable technology is also fast catching on as a fashion statement, and nursing practice can piggyback off that.
Whether this promise will contribute to improvements in patient care outcomes
Wearable tech and health trackers will contribute significantly to improvements in patient care outcomes because they provide an avenue for real-time monitoring of patients – even when they are outside the health care organization. Healthcare providers can remotely provide information about lifestyle or treatment modification. This, in turn, means that patients who will not – or cannot – present to the health facility still get taken care of, leading to the eventual improvement of overall population health.
References
Kruse, C. S., Frederick, B., Jacobson, T., & Monticone, D. K. (2017). Cybersecurity in healthcare: A systematic review of modern threats and trends.
Technology and Health Care, 25(1), 1-10
Marr, B. (2022). The Five Biggest Healthcare Tech Trends In 2022. Retrieved from
Skiba, D. (2017). Evaluation Tools to Appraise Social Media and Mobile Applications. Informatics, 4(3), 32.
Yeganeh, H. (2019). An analysis of emerging trends and transformations in global healthcare. International Journal of Health Governance, 24(2), 169-180.
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Collapse SubdiscussionSheila Ankrah Response #1
Hi Benedicta,
Thumbs up for the work you did on this post. You provided great insight into the advantages and challenges we face daily in nursing using technology. As I was reading through the challenges you presented, I wanted to expand on the breach in security we face as most of our patient’s information is being moved to electronic medical records. We easily remember not to share information by word of mouth or involve someone outside of the treatment team in a patient’s confidential medical information. Still, I often forget to “badge out” of my workstation or close out a patient’s chart when I’m busy or on the move. I can easily forget that this small misstep can compromise the confidentiality of the patient by exposing their confidential medical information and leaving it unprotected. Safe technological integration is important to maintaining patient confidentiality and is a beneficial strategy to promote patient safety (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018).
The evolution and integration of technology into health care are exciting and can lead to better patient outcomes as patients learn to take better accountability for their health. Their treatments have become more focused on modulating their behaviours to improve their health. In a study by Dykes, et al. (2017), they concluded that “patient-centred care” combined with online technology and involving the patients in the discussion regarding their care led to decreased rates of adverse events and increased rates of patient satisfaction (pg. e812).
References
Dykes, P.C., Rozenblum, R., Dalal, A., Massaro, A., Chang, F., Clements, M., Collins, S., …Bates, D.W. (2017). Prospective evaluation of a multifaceted intervention to improve outcomes in intensive care: The promoting respect and ongoing safety through patient engagement communication and technology study. Critical Care Medicine, 45(8), e806-e813. Doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000002449
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionSimranjeet Brar Main Post
Telemedicine is changing the way doctors and patients interact. Telehealth is the delivery of clinical treatment and clinical education over long distances using electronic health information in conjunction with telecommunications technologies such as videoconferencing, the internet, streaming media, and wireless communications (HealthIt.gov, 2019). It is used more frequently at my institution, which is a state prison, as it compared to the past as it is less costly to arrange telemedicine appointment with specialists for initial evaluations than transporting inmate patients to the providers’ offices. Although telehealth was first established to aid individuals in remote regions and the marginalized population, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis rocketed telehealth as a very acceptable form of giving treatment as direct contact between physician and patient was reduced during that time (Jin et al., 2020). Now, more and more people are turning to telehealth as a practical and affordable method of providing medical treatment (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020).
Rising healthcare costs, an aging population, and the prevalence of chronic diseases are just a few of the main reasons why more people are turning to telehealth (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2020). It will become increasingly important to provide care for patients who are unable to go to a doctor’s office due to their condition and who have a growing prevalence of chronic diseases as our population ages (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). More individuals with disabilities and diseases can be attributed to these persistent problems (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). The rising healthcare needs of these individuals is a major factor in driving up overall healthcare expenses (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).
The use of telemedicine in clinics and hospitals has several positive outcomes. Since fewer people will need to go to the emergency room or stay in the hospital for an extended period of time, telehealth has the potential to save money (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020). Patients in remote locations, especially those in areas with a scarcity of healthcare personnel, can benefit from telehealth because of its capacity to offer them with access to treatment and resources (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020). Finally, for patients who reside in far-flung places or who have mobility issues due to chronic illnesses, telehealth can lessen the burden of travel (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020).
The downsides of telehealth are unfortunately not only theoretical. Lack of a full physical examination, including auscultation and palpation, which can aid in diagnosis and therapy, is a drawback (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020). The inability of the elderly to accept and master new forms of technology is another barrier (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020). Finally, the capacity of a patient to employ telehealth is considerably reduced since many elderly patients or those living in remote regions do not have access to the internet, a smart phone, or a tablet (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020).
To deliver safe telehealth treatment, medical professionals must be aware of and prepared for the potential risks of this practice. As an example, the absence of multi-state licensing for telehealth services across jurisdictions presents a potential threat (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020). In order to practice telehealth lawfully, providers must be licensed in every state where they offer their services (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2020). Since providers are using data and systems that are not foolproof against hackers and data breaches, patient privacy and confidentiality are also at danger (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020). Patients’ worries about the safety of telehealth systems have prevented the practice from gaining widespread popularity (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020). Finally, the differences between telehealth and conventional medical practices with regards to liability is unclear. Telehealth medicine is novel and may not be regarded as standard of treatment at this time, thus clinicians should pay close attention to the coverage provided by their liability insurance plans, as stated by Gajarawala & Pelowski (2020). (Gajarawala & Pelowski, 2020).
References
Gajarawala, S. & Pelkowski, J. (2020). Telehealth benefits and barriers. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7577680/
HealthIT.gov (2019, October 17). What is telehealth? How is telehealth different from telemedicine? https://search.usa.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&affiliate=www.healthit.gov&query=telehealth Links to an external site.Links to an external site.+
Jin, M., Kim S., Miller, L., Behari, G. & Correa, R. (2020). Telemedicine: Current impact on the future. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7502422/Links to an external site.Links to an external site.
McGonigle, D. & Mastrian, K.G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jone & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionErica Schulte Erica Schulte – Response #1 – Simranjeet Brar
Hello Simranjeet, I enjoyed reading your post. Your personal experience offers quite a unique view! Regardless, all of the points made are real positives and negatives within our world of telehealth opportunities. One of the points you hit on is in regard to the opportunity’s telehealth presents to patients in more distant locations. Patients who do not have the ability to efficiently see their providers during a frequent need for observation can take advantage of this style of healthcare without uprooting their daily lives. As with all things, there are also challenges in some of the most remote communities that create a difficulty to provide telehealth in certain rural areas. In reading case studies focused on telehealth in rural communities in the Yukon Territories as well as Austrailia, lack of infrastructure within those communities created a barrier to establish telehealth (O’Kane, 2020), (Seto1 et al., 2019). Things such as lack of government support and even phone or internet coverage can reduce the ability to establish a working process.
References
O’Kane, G. (2020, August). Telehealth-improving access for rural, regional and remote communities. The Australian journal of rural health. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7461285/
Seto1, E., Smith3, D., Jacques4, M., Morita1, P. P., Policy, 1I. of H., & Morita, C. A. P. P. (2019, January 11). Opportunities and challenges of telehealth in remote communities: Case study of the Yukon Telehealth System. JMIR Medical Informatics. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://medinform.jmir.org/2019/4/e11353
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Collapse SubdiscussionSheila Ankrah Response #2
Hi Simranjeet,
Thank you for such a wonderful post. Telehealth is here to stay. I work in the clinic with 25 providers fluent in telehealth visits. One major benefit of all these telehealth or virtual visits is there contactless and can happen just about anywhere (Hasselfeld, 2022). They are very convenient; however, the downfall that I see is that your primary care clinic is only open till 5-6 PM, so you could not have a visit with your primary care provider, but you may have one with an online health care company that can give you a virtual visit any time day or night. So far, telehealth visits have increased from 11 to 46% during the pandemic (Lee & Lee, 2021). Will this stay? We do not know. I predict that many visits will stay virtual for the convenience of not having to drive to the clinic and still being able to receive the same care. In my clinic, we have figured out to complete the entire visit except for vitals and labs, to check for an ear infection, or to listen to the lungs. With all these new technologies, it will not be long as “there will be an app for that .”Amazon tells otoscopes that you can plug into your phone already; it is just time that will say this will be used to determine a virtual ear infection.
References
Hasselfeld, B. (2022). Benefits of Telemedicine. Retrieved from Johns Hopkins Medicine: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/benefits-of-telemedicineLinks to an external site.
Lee, S. M., & Lee, D. (2021, June). Opportunities and challenges for contactless healthcare services in the post-COVID-19 Era. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, p. 167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120712Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionAndrea M Allen Healthcare Information Technology Trend
In the hospital where I work, there is a slow integration of technology advancement in the way we communicate and provide care. We are still using a pen to paper for charting. However, one of the newest technologies in healthcare that started trending since the COVID-19 outbreak is virtual communication or Zoom Meetings among the administration staff daily at the start of the shift. The hospital Administrator along with all department heads usually have an in-person meeting in the Medical Library to discuss patient issues such as admissions, discharges as well as issues impacting patient care units. To safeguard the health of everyone, zoom meeting became the new trend.
Individual cameras are placed on monitors, and participants are provided with the meeting ID number, and a password from a meeting invite link so they can access the zoom portal from a web browser. The meeting moderator will grant access to the meeting and staffs may utilize permission to use a microphone and or camera during the meeting. An email in the form of a Report of the issues is also sent to participants. Highlighted patients are discussed on an individual basis. If a physician is absent, the rest of the treatment team will be aware of the doctor who is covering and an update on the patient’s status.
Some challenges in attending zoom meetings include Zoom fatigue, communication gap (people reports that face-to-face is distracting, paying attention to body language and posture instead), Distant Time zones, reduced productivity technical issues and loosing time, lack of structure and lack of office culture. Benefits include the ability to streamline enterprise communication, ease of use, and high-quality video.
Though zoom is popular, it comes with some privacy risks. Some office staffs can easily have access to the meeting due to participants pasting the access numbers on the monitors for ease of use. They can also overhear the discussion because the supervisors’ offices are closely joined. Then there is the issue of built -in attention-attracting features, software bugs and zoom-bombing where uninvited attendees break into and disrupt meetings (Boland et. al, 2022). Zoom also does not implement End-to-End encryption. Not having a lock next to the timestamp of a conversation enables exposure of the conversations and putting patients at risk if the information becomes stolen.
A secure, HIPPA-compliant data sharing of information, I believe will be most promising for impacting healthcare technology in nursing whether by virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, or machine learning. Patients are not safe until patients’ information is safe and secure. HIPPA ensures that healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and business associates of HIPPA-covered entities must implement multiple safeguards to protect sensitive personal and health information that will contribute to improving overall patients’ outcome.
References
Boland, J., Banks., Krabbe, S., […] & Vandenberg, M. (2022) A COVID-19 era rapid review: Using Zoom and Skype for qualitative group research. PHRP Vol..32(2): e31232112 Doi.org/:10.17061Phrp31232112
https://www.phrp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PHRP31232112.pdf
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionIrvin Michael Jones Hi Andrea,
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began it has become apparent how much healthcare technology has become a necessity in delivering care to our patients. One of the biggest technology trends to make an impact on healthcare organizations has certainly been the use of Zoom meetings. Virtual communication through the Zoom application has proven extremely helpful in allowing staff members to speak to one another about patients without needing to meet in a single office. Zoom meetings could also be utilized to communicate to patients and their families as long as the meeting is password protected. Kapoor et al. (2020) states telehealth options such as virtual appointments has become a vital tool in assisting patients who were placed on quarantine due to COVID-19 as well as patients who physically have difficulty making it to their appointments. My facility currently utilizes Zoom to communicate with patients’ families regarding how their loved one is doing in the hospital. Hills and Hills (2020) states providing patients with the opportunity to connect to their providers virtually breaks the ongoing issues surrounding access to care at established brick-and-mortar healthcare facilities. The use of virtual communication has enhanced the communication options for all healthcare staff members as well as the patients that we serve.
References
Hills, W. E., & Hills, K. T. (2020). Tele-Healthcare and the Use of Virtual Communication Technologies in Medical Research and Application: The
Future of Telemedicine Is Now! Medical Science Pulse, 14(3), 78–83. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0014.4767
Kapoor, A., Guha, S., Das, M. K., Goswami, K. C., & Yadav, R. (2020). Digital healthcare: The only solution for better healthcare during COVID-19
pandemic. Indian Heart Journal, 72(2), 61-64.
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Collapse SubdiscussionJodian Walford Hi Andrea,
Great Post.
As medical professionals, we must acknowledge how technological innovation within healthcare has grown and increased productivity and patient outcomes—of course, not disputing the negatives but recognizing and mitigating them as best as we can.
The EHR system and telemedicine are breaking barriers, allowing for better record keeping and more accessibility to healthcare. According to McGonigle & Mastrian (2022), EHR makes patient health information accessible to the lab, imaging, pharmacy, and clinics. This means patients or medical professionals no longer have to wait for lab results for prolonged periods. Patients can get medications quicker from the pharmacy due to electronically sending a medical request to the pharmacy. On the other hand, we have telehealth, where patients can access needed healthcare services through smart devices right in the comfort of their homes. Telehealth can reduce patient complications or potential disease progression (HIMMS, 2022). Even with this medical revolution, the healthcare organization must institutionalize policy and staff training to ensure patient safety. Without education and proper training, healthcare providers may lack what it takes to enjoy the maximum benefits from these healthcare advancements (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).
References
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMMS), (2022). 8 benefits of telehealth.
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/8-benefits-telehealth
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionGuoming Feng Main Post
Digital technologies’ application in healthcare is increasing. General healthcare technology trend is the digitalization, such as telehealth helping patients with limited access to healthcare service, especially in the remote rural areas is very important. Telehealth makes it easier to have services from the specialists. The applications of HER makes patients’ data collection, storage, and sharing easier, increasing healthcare efficiency. Cloud storage system stores large amount of data, and these big data could be shared with other different cloud platforms, which are improving consultations’ quality (University of Central Florida, 2022).
One of the biggest potential challenges or risks that may be inherent of telehealth include is data inaccuracy and misdiagnosis. Study found that Internet bandwidth affects the validity and reliability for fine motor task measurements, which could result in healthcare providers receiving inaccurate patient healthcare data and making misdiagnosis based on these inaccurate patient healthcare data. Of course, a patient could be misdiagnosed even receiving face-to-face visit, but the risk increases with telehealth (Smith, 2018).
Potential benefits of telemedicine are obviously. It can increase the healthcare access for most patients, especially for patients living in rural locations. For example, in the VA healthcare system, we have patients living in the north Arizona rural area where the nearest specialist clinics are more than 50 miles away, and the possible in-person visit schedule may to wait for at least 6 months. But with Telehealth, healthcare providers could be reach within a week. Telehealth is convenient for people, patients don’t have to arrange their transportation, childcare, or reschedule for work, etc., which is very important for patients with chronic conditions that need to access the healthcare services frequently (Cascella, 2018).
One potential risk associated with data safety, legislation, and patient care for telehealth is patient privacy and confidentiality. Although telehealth promises to increase access of healthcare, reduce costs, and improve convenience and patient satisfaction, it raises the issues of privacy and confidentiality. There are many platforms, and most of these platforms are highly encrypted, but no platform is safe. For example, a few years ago, hackers hacked the VA system and thousands of veterans’ healthcare information were stolen. Because of potential risk, some veterans lack of trust to the telehealth in our hospital, it is one of the biggest barriers for the application of telehealth. It is very important for the telehealth providers to take responsibility for ensuring compliance with regulations, such as HIPPA and always maintain system security when practicing in a telehealth model (Gajarawala & Pelkowski,2021).
I believe, the most promising healthcare technology trends that are impacting healthcare in nursing practice, are artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. In our hospital, we are using Tele Sitter, an AI programed device, for patients who need safety accompany, such as to prevent fall for confused patients or prevent suicide for SI patients. When the Tele Sitter monitor these patients and analysis their behaviors, when the Tele Sitter detects some abnormal behavior, they will immediately communicate with the patients and notice the nurses. In the pharmacy of our hospital, the robotics distribute prescriptions and deliver to different floor through the tube delivery systems, which greatly increasing working efficiency and accuracy. Although the promise future for the application of AI and robotics in the healthcare and nursing, there are lot of studies needed to be done on whether they can replace humans due to human nurses’ ability to manifest caring relates to their humanness or their unpredictable nature (Soriano et al., 2022).
References
Cascella L. Virtual risk: an overview of telehealth from a risk management perspective. 2018. https://www.medpro.com/documents/10502/2820774/Virtual+Risk+-+An+Overview+of+Telehealth.pdf
Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth Benefits and Barriers. The journal for nurse practitioners: JNP, 17(2), 218–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013
Smith E. American telemedicine association applauds landmark expansion of Medicare telehealth coverage. American Telemedicine Association. September 20, 2018. https://www.americantelemed.org/press-releases/american-telemedicine-association-applauds-landmark-expansion-of-medicare-telehealth-coverage/Links to an external site.
Soriano, G. P., Yasuhara, Y., Ito, H., Matsumoto, K., Osaka, K., Kai, Y., Locsin, R., Schoenhofer, S., & Tanioka, T. (2022). Robots and Robotics in Nursing. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 10(8), 1571. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10081571
University of Central Florida. (n.d.). 2022 healthcare industry trends that will make a difference. UCF Online. (2022, April 29). Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://www.ucf.edu/online/healthcare/news/healthcare-industry-trends/Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionErica Schulte Erica Schulte discussion – Module 4
General healthcare technology trends
As technology continues to improve and grow, so does accessibility for patients to health information. This information is not only limited to general knowledge, but also accessible to a patient’s own health information. One of these platforms would be a patient portal. A patient portal is ultimately a website or online database that allows a patient anytime to access to their health records. Patient portals have become increasingly popular, and have really taken a surge since the pandemic. Some of the immediate benefits of the patient portal according to (Lee & Holland-Hall, 2021), are an “increased patient engagement in their healthcare as well as immediate access to their physicians”.
One challenge/ risk
Ironically, while the patient portal continues to be a growing trend, one noted challenge is the lack of personal connection (Lee & Holland-Hall, 2021). While the challenge to connect while utilizing various electronic platforms will always exist, there is still a level of care that should be expected by a patient and applied by healthcare professionals when in person that should help to reduce this risk. (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022) discusses this art of caring and how these simple processes can make a major difference in the world of technology.
Risks & Benefits to data safety
In addition to various challenges, there also comes risks. One of the biggest risks is the potential for patient data to become un-secure. Whether this comes from a data breach, or in some cases, just a lack of security. While a lot of hospitals vary, loose requirements for account set up can result in patient data exposure. According to (Celine Latulipe, 2020), the requirement of proxy accounts to limit credential sharing would be beneficial. The benefit to these proxy accounts, or even proxy sharing for that matter is an additional drive for family support. Regardless of various pros and cons, it does seem that this trend continues to generate support. Even within legislation there continues to be a drive for increasing accessibility of patient records, mainly through these types of atient portal platforms. (Jama Network)
While it is easy to weigh on the negatives, there are certainly positives as well.
One of the biggest benefits in patient portals and the available patient information is accurate and readily available information. “Up to 18% of the patient safety errors generally and as many as 70% of adverse drug events could be eliminated if the right information about the right patient is available at the right time.” (Kaelber & Bates, 2007)
Trends to impact healthcare technology
While the benefits and challenges are evident, I do believe that the continued improvement of the patient portal and other patient interaction platforms can only be a benefit to the healthcare world. As noted above, just the increase in patient safety should outweigh any of these potential challenges. I think that these benefits all are a result of one another. “It is estimated each year that approximately 100,000 deaths a year occur due to adverse drug reactions.” (Kaelber & Bates, 2007). If this number can continue to improve and gain efficiencies, it will only be a benefit to the.
References
Celine Latulipe, P. D. (2020, June 1). Security and privacy risks associated with Patient Portal Accounts. JAMA Internal Medicine. Retrieved January 4, 2022 from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2764648Links to an external site.
Jama Network. (n.d.). Retrieved January 4, 2022 from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2766776Links to an external site.
Kaelber, D. C., & Bates, D. W. (2007, September 7). Health Information Exchange and patient safety. Journal of Biomedical Informatics. Retrieved January 4, 2022 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1532046407000901Links to an external site.
Lee, J. A., & Holland-Hall, C. (2021, November 11). Patient portals for the adolescent and young adult population: Benefits, risks and guidance for use. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care. Retrieved January 4, 2022. from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1538544221001565Links to an external site.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Chapter 25: The Art of Caring in Technology-Laden Environments. . In Nursing Informatics and the foundation of knowledge (pp. 582–610). essay, Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionBenedicta Kwevie Response 2
Hello Erica.
Great post. A patient portal can help give healthcare providers a place to keep patient information quickly. Using a patient portal, doctors can input patient information the moment they are told, order medication when they think the patient needs it, and access any lab results or medical records (Medical, 2019). A challenge of the patient portal could be connection issues. Patient portals are online, and there can be the usual network error (Elevate Services Group, 2021). When this happens, time-sensitive information that needs to be put in would be delayed, or patient medication that they need quickly could be pushed back, potentially harming the patient
References
Elevate Services Group. (2021, September 21). Is Your Patient Portal Putting You At Risk? | IT Support
Denver Blog. Elevate.
https://www.elevateservicesgroup.com/patient-portal-risk/Links to an external site.
Medical, B. (2019, July 15). 10 Benefits Of Patient Portals You Can’t Miss For Your Practice | Boost. Boost
Medical.
https://boostmedical.com/benefits-of-patient-portals/Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMleh Porter Description of General Healthcare Technology Trends
Healthcare technology has advanced significantly in recent years, providing more efficient and effective patient care. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the significant trends that has taken the healthcare industry by storm (Rong et al., 2020). AI technology automates tedious tasks, such as data entry and diagnosing and treating illness. A second trend in healthcare is wearable medical devices and sensors. Lu et al. (2020) have explained that wearable medical devices have become increasingly popular as they allow for better monitoring of health and fitness levels. Cloud computing is the third technology that has been gaining traction in healthcare, as it allows for secure and efficient data storage and sharing. Finally, mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular in healthcare. These applications provide a convenient way for patients to access health information, book appointments, and even participate in telemedicine.
Potential Risks
One potential challenge with artificial intelligence (AI) is the risk of data privacy and security breaches (Rong et al., 2020). AI systems may be vulnerable to hacking, which could allow unauthorized access to confidential patient data. Wearable medical devices are convenient for patients but can introduce risks if the data collected is not managed and secured correctly (Lu et al., 2020). These risks include data breaches, unauthorized access, and the risk of data misinterpretation. Cloud computing can be an effective tool for storing and sharing medical data. Still, it also carries the potential risk of data loss or breaches due to inadequate security measures. Lastly, mobile applications pose a risk if not designed with security because they are vulnerable to malware, data theft, and other security breaches.
Benefits and Risks
On benefits, AI technology is used to accurately diagnose and treat patients, which saves time and money. Wearable medical devices provide doctors and other healthcare professionals with real-time access to patient data, allowing for better patient monitoring and faster response times. Cloud computing provides large amounts of data storage, allowing healthcare providers to organize better and track patient records. Mobile applications provide patients with better access to healthcare, allowing for on-the-go care and more accessible communication with healthcare providers. On risks, data safety, and legislation around the use of these technologies can sometimes be challenging to manage and enforce (Rong et al., 2020). With these new technologies comes the risk of data security, consent, and other patient privacy issues. The current regulations and oversight risk falling behind the technologies they should govern with this growing technology trend. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may not be sufficient to protect patient privacy with new technology trends like AI. New regulations emphasizing patient privacy and consent must be implemented with sophisticated data de-identification and protection methods that keep up with these newer technologies (Murdoch, 2021). Patient data is vulnerable to breaches without proper safeguards, which could lead to serious privacy violations.
Most Promising Healthcare Technology in Nursing Practice
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Wearable Medical Devices are the most promising trends impacting healthcare technology in nursing practice. AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by automating data-driven insights and complex decision-making processes (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). According to Lu et al. (2020), wearable medical devices are also highly promising for impacting healthcare technology in nursing practice. Wearable devices allow nurses to monitor patients’ vital signs and symptoms in real time.
Contribution to Patient Care Outcomes, Efficiencies, Or Data Management
The promise of AI and wearable medical devices in healthcare technology will improve patient care outcomes, efficiencies, and data management. With AI, nurses can gain insights into complex medical data, allowing them to make better-informed decisions about patient care. AI can also automate data-driven processes, such as drug dosage calculations, freeing nurses to focus on patient care. The use of wearable medical devices can also improve patient care outcomes by allowing nurses to monitor a patient’s vital signs and symptoms in real time. Furthermore, wearable medical devices can track a patient’s progress, allowing nurses to make more informed decisions about patient care.
Technologies will continue to impact all aspects of life, including healthcare, significantly. AI and wearable medical devices are some technological trends that can substantially improve healthcare delivery. Although there are benefits to these healthcare technologies, they also have the risk of privacy and security breaches. Putting safeguards and legislation in place to address these concerns will improve patient outcomes.
References
Lu, L., Zhang, J., Xie, Y., Gao, F., Xu, S., Wu, X., & Ye, Z. (2020). Wearable health devices in health care: Narrative systematic review. JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth, 8(11), e18907. https://doi.org/10.2196/18907Links to an external site.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Murdoch, B. (2021). Privacy and artificial intelligence: Challenges for protecting health information in a new era. BMC Medical Ethics, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00687-3
Rong, G., Mendez, A., Assi, E. B., Zhao, B., & Sawan, M. (2020). Artificial intelligence in healthcare: Review and prediction case studies. Engineering, 6(3), 291-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2019.08.015Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMleh Porter Description of General Healthcare Technology Trends
Healthcare technology has advanced significantly in recent years, providing more efficient and effective patient care. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the significant trends that has taken the healthcare industry by storm (Rong et al., 2020). AI technology automates tedious tasks, such as data entry and diagnosing and treating illness. A second trend in healthcare is wearable medical devices and sensors. Lu et al. (2020) have explained that wearable medical devices have become increasingly popular as they allow for better monitoring of health and fitness levels. Cloud computing is the third technology that has been gaining traction in healthcare, as it allows for secure and efficient data storage and sharing. Finally, mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular in healthcare. These applications provide a convenient way for patients to access health information, book appointments, and even participate in telemedicine.
Potential Risks
One potential challenge with artificial intelligence (AI) is the risk of data privacy and security breaches (Rong et al., 2020). AI systems may be vulnerable to hacking, which could allow unauthorized access to confidential patient data. Wearable medical devices are convenient for patients but can introduce risks if the data collected is not managed and secured correctly (Lu et al., 2020). These risks include data breaches, unauthorized access, and the risk of data misinterpretation. Cloud computing can be an effective tool for storing and sharing medical data. Still, it also carries the potential risk of data loss or breaches due to inadequate security measures. Lastly, mobile applications pose a risk if not designed with security because they are vulnerable to malware, data theft, and other security breaches.
Benefits and Risks
On benefits, AI technology is used to accurately diagnose and treat patients, which saves time and money. Wearable medical devices provide doctors and other healthcare professionals with real-time access to patient data, allowing for better patient monitoring and faster response times. Cloud computing provides large amounts of data storage, allowing healthcare providers to organize better and track patient records. Mobile applications provide patients with better access to healthcare, allowing for on-the-go care and more accessible communication with healthcare providers. On risks, data safety, and legislation around the use of these technologies can sometimes be challenging to manage and enforce (Rong et al., 2020). With these new technologies comes the risk of data security, consent, and other patient privacy issues. The current regulations and oversight risk falling behind the technologies they should govern with this growing technology trend. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may not be sufficient to protect patient privacy with new technology trends like AI. New regulations emphasizing patient privacy and consent must be implemented with sophisticated data de-identification and protection methods that keep up with these newer technologies (Murdoch, 2021). Patient data is vulnerable to breaches without proper safeguards, which could lead to serious privacy violations.
Most Promising Healthcare Technology in Nursing Practice
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Wearable Medical Devices are the most promising trends impacting healthcare technology in nursing practice. AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by automating data-driven insights and complex decision-making processes (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). According to Lu et al. (2020), wearable medical devices are also highly promising for impacting healthcare technology in nursing practice. Wearable devices allow nurses to monitor patients’ vital signs and symptoms in real time.
Contribution to Patient Care Outcomes, Efficiencies, Or Data Management
The promise of AI and wearable medical devices in healthcare technology will improve patient care outcomes, efficiencies, and data management. With AI, nurses can gain insights into complex medical data, allowing them to make better-informed decisions about patient care. AI can also automate data-driven processes, such as drug dosage calculations, freeing nurses to focus on patient care. The use of wearable medical devices can also improve patient care outcomes by allowing nurses to monitor a patient’s vital signs and symptoms in real time. Furthermore, wearable medical devices can track a patient’s progress, allowing nurses to make more informed decisions about patient care.
Technologies will continue to impact all aspects of life, including healthcare, significantly. AI and wearable medical devices are some technological trends that can substantially improve healthcare delivery. Although there are benefits to these healthcare technologies, they also have the risk of privacy and security breaches. Putting safeguards and legislation in place to address these concerns will improve patient outcomes.
References
Lu, L., Zhang, J., Xie, Y., Gao, F., Xu, S., Wu, X., & Ye, Z. (2020). Wearable health devices in health care: Narrative systematic review. JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth, 8(11), e18907. https://doi.org/10.2196/18907
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Murdoch, B. (2021). Privacy and artificial intelligence: Challenges for protecting health information in a new era. BMC Medical Ethics, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00687-3
Rong, G., Mendez, A., Assi, E. B., Zhao, B., & Sawan, M. (2020). Artificial intelligence in healthcare: Review and prediction case studies. Engineering, 6(3), 291-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2019.08.015
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Collapse SubdiscussionJodian Walford As the health field grows technologically and seeks to modernize to the current standard other industries, like business, have set. There is the development of Electronic Health recording system.
My healthcare organization has recently transitioned to EHR systems from paper charting. HealthIT.gov (2019) defines EHR as a digital version of a patient’s paper chart that is a vital part of health IT and can allow access to evidence-based tools that providers can use to make decisions regarding patient care. Amongst its great benefits like creating better accessibility to patient charts which include patient’s history and medications regimes results. To Reduce the ordering of unnecessary tests. The prevention of medication errors or being time efficient.
They are still several challenges despite the great benefits. Data security is among the most concerning. Sensitive data are collected by healthcare organizations from their customers and stored on network servers to make them accessible all the time and to facilitate patient care, but unfortunately, every blessing has a curse (she et al.,2022). This creates a risk of hackers and cybercriminals trying to access this information. Health records have become a valuable commodity among hackers because EHRs offer identity information more comprehensive than almost any other type of record. (Advent Health,2021)
The healthcare trend of Telemedicine is likely to influence healthcare technology significantly. According to Harfield (2021), Telemedicine or telehealth is defined as virtual care, which refers to medical or mental health advice or treatment provided by phone, mobile app, or online video. Telehealth can facilitate patient care and monitoring from anywhere through a smart device, drastically increasing healthcare availability and patient outcomes. With telehealth, vulnerable, disabled, or otherwise impaired patients can still access high-quality healthcare without leaving their homes. (Harfield,2021)
Telemedicine offers promising signs of progress in health technology positively impacting patient care. Since the pandemic, Covid 19 have plaque the world; telehealth has become much more popular as it facilitates social distancing and keeps more patients safe. They could still be monitored throughout isolated periods. It incorporates family through education into the care and patients who live in rural areas or have difficulty accessing treatment. Providers can send prescriptions or use electronic health recordings to keep track of patients’ progress. The patient can access information on conditions and tests and get answers about health conditions from the treatment team.
References
AdventHealth University (2021) 5 important elements to establish data security in Healthcare.
https://www.ahu.edu/blog/data-security-in-healthcare
Hartfield.J(2021) What is telehealth and how does it work?, MUO. Available at:
https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-telehealth-how-does-it-work/.
HealthIT.gov (2019) What is an electronic health record (EHR)?
https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record- ehr#:~:text=An%20electronic%20health%20record%20%28EHR%29%20is%20a%20digital,information%20available%20instantly%20and%20securely%20to%20authorized%20users.
Seh, A.H. et al., (2020). “Healthcare data breaches: Insights and implications,” healthcare, 8(2), p. 133.
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8020133.
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Collapse SubdiscussionRoberto Monroy Hello Jodian!
Telehealth is changing healthcare as we see it today; it offers benefits to virtually all patients who choose to use the service. Telehealth can also improve doctor-to-doctor communication and facilitate the creation of support networks to enhance their skills and the quality of care provided (Haleem et al., 2021). Collaboration between all physicians is key to optimizing treatment, and video communication bridges this gap.
There is no doubt that Covid-19 increased the demand for Telehealth, a 60% increase in 2020, and is expected to have a seven-fold increase by the year 2025 (Lieneck et al., 2020). I agree that Telehealth will continue to progress in healthcare; receiving quality care from the comfort of your own home is a future to look forward to!References
Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Singh, R. P., & Suman, R. (2021). Telemedicine for healthcare:
Capabilities, features, barriers, and applications. Sensors international, 2, 100117.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sintl.2021.100117Links to an external site.Lieneck, C., Garvey, J., Collins, C., Graham, D., Loving, C., & Pearson, R. (2020). Rapid
Telehealth Implementation during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic: A Rapid
Review. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 8(4), 517.
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040517
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Collapse SubdiscussionRoberto Monroy Since the emergence of Covid-19, Telehealth/video communication has changed healthcare as we know it today. In 2020 Telehealth communications peaked as virtual visits doubled, leading to over 291 million minutes of Telehealth communications used and, on average, decreased visit time by 60% (Vogt et al., 2022). In my facility, not only do we utilize this technology to communicate with doctors virtually, but patients also can communicate with their families and even virtually attend court proceedings, all from within a psychiatric hospital. The main challenge I’ve seen with this technology is its dependence on internet services; variables such as weather, slow data speeds, and malfunctioning equipment can all lead to this system’s failure and delays in care.
Data safety and security are always considered when using internet-based systems to provide patient care. Laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health offer security and protection of these services; however, no platform is 100% safe from the potential of data breaches and hackers (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021). There still are some noteworthy benefits, as mentioned before, visitation time is nearly cut in half, immediate treatment even in remote settings, and decreased risk of contamination/illnesses such as Covid-19 and the flu.
Another healthcare trend that I believe will become incredibly useful is augmented reality (AR). AR can provide real-world projections of objects which can be used to educate patients about their treatments, diagnoses, and procedures. (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). This is a great learning tool as clinicians and patients can use their sense of sight to gain a better perspective and understanding of their treatment. One scenario I see this advantageous is before surgery; surgeons can produce holograms of the surgery to gain familiarity with the procedure leading to a decreased risk of errors and better patient outcomes.
References
Gajarawala, S. N., & Pelkowski, J. N. (2021). Telehealth Benefits and Barriers. The journal for nurse practitioners : JNP, 17(2), 218–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013Links to an external site.
McGonigle, D. & Mastrian, K.G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jone & Bartlett Learning.
Vogt, E. L., Welch, B. M., Bunnell, B. E., Barrera, J. F., Paige, S. R., Owens, M., Coffey, P., Diazgranados, N., & Goldman, D. (2022). Quantifying the Impact of COVID-19 on
Telemedicine Utilization: Retrospective Observational Study. Interactive journal of medical research, 11(1), e29880. https://doi.org/10.2196/29880-
Collapse SubdiscussionBenedicta Kwevie Response 1
Hi Roberto
Telehealth communication during the rise of the pandemic helped significantly keep people safe while ensuring they are healthy through everything. With people fearing contracting the virus and spreading it to people they know through in-person visits, they were much more willing to use technological systems to keep track of their health (Watson, 2020). I agree; one big challenge could be network issues, which could stop patients from getting vital information about themselves. Another challenge could be their access to or knowledge of technology. Some patients might be limited to things like computers or tablets, things they can use to contact their doctors, and this can push back further their efforts to know their health status (Welkin, 2021).
References
Watson, S. (2020, October 12). Telehealth: The advantages and disadvantages. Harvard Health.
Welkin, W. (2021, March 30). Telehealth: Benefits and Challenges to Consider When Implementing the Healthcare of the Future. Welkin
Health.
https://welkinhealth.com/telehealth-benefits-and-challenges/Links to an external site.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMaxine A Lewis Re-posting as my APA formatting continues to be off when posted here, I am not sure what is hapening.
Week 6 Discussion Question
Covid-19 and its risk were initially identified by BlueDot a Canadian artificial intelligence platform (Han and Le, 2021). Since then, innovative medical technologies appear to have developed overnight i.e., MRNA, telemedicine, increase electronic health records, health wearables, virtual reality, neurotechnology and artificial intelligence and robotics to name a few. Over the years, technological and medical advances have resulted in continual advances in pharmacy and medicine, saving millions of lives and improving many others (Burke, 2020).
Within my facility, a teaching hospital, I have observed continuous EEG recording and telestroke/telemedicine and MedConnect EHR (Electronic Health Records) which according to Michaels’s prediction medConnect will not interrupt patient care and will improve access to vital signs, test results, or treatment outcomes of patients across the Medstar hospitals and physician practices (2023). EHRs (Electronic Health Records) is designed to provide a complete medical history of an individual and distribute health information to healthcare providers, laboratories and other diagnostic facilities involved in the patient’s care (McGonigle and Mastrian, 2022). With the initiation of Cerner and MedConect it is not Userfriendly and poses a potential by removing nurses’ autonomy in initiating certain patient care i.e., blood works, EKG, imaging without an immediate order hence delaying diagnosis resulting in increased patient risk of harm. The electronic charting tends to remove an individual ability to use their initiative for example round report indicated the need for a cat-scan and MRI prior to electronic order we would right away notify both department and coordinate times (I do not want my patient to travel twice) for both then right after rounding off to the test’s orders are sometimes obtain right there in the testing department. In the present day nothing is done without an order, hence delaying the patent’s care and diagnosis.
Another issue is electrolyte replacement: prior to electronic charting there was protocol to replace potassium (K), magnesium(mag)and phosphorous (phos). Now I have noticed a delay (sometimes a whole shift) in acting on this issue resulting in increased risk of complication. What result is the delay? Communication of needed electrolyte replace by nurse to resident there is a delay as the resident is dealing with an emergency and did not delegate the order to others, repeated order request from nurse to absent-minded resident who must be reminded multiple times to place the orders. This seems small but is my Achilles heel why not replicate the paper protocol which was successful on paper form into the electronic orders? Is not possible as certain intricated information like creatinine are not program in the system orders.
There are multiple other issues such as “STAT” order which were electronically order which the nurse is in a room trying to stabilize a patient no time to look at the computer the residents pop his/her head in the room and ask, “did you give that stat order I wrote at 930 pm to your patient next door?”. My response with a smile was no “I was not aware as I have been in this room since 730, next time you write a stat order please notify the nurse or charge nurse and follow up at a suitable time like 5-10 minutes after you have written it.”
Technology will improve and save lots of lives and with the “increasing use of EHRs in place of face-to-face communication, it is essential that these technologies support effective communication” (Kandaswamy, 2021). Technology should not take the place of a face-to-face conversation with nurses concerning medications or interventions ordered ASAP, STAT or immediate orders when written electronically.
Electronic health record (EHR) systems can transform the healthcare system from a paper-based industry to one that uses clinical and other information to help providers provide better, quality care for their patients (Menachemi and Collum, 2011)) . However, EHRs must support multiple user views and user interfaces and provide access to patient data in a variety of formats and formats for the future. Future trends of EHR include integration of clinical information systems (CIS) technology to allow clinicians to access information instantly; clinical decision support and professional development tools and developing standardize terminology (McGonigle and Mastrian, 2022) to name a few.
References
H. Han and J. Y. Lee, “Digital Healthcare Industry and Technology Trends,” 2021 IEEE International Conference on Big Data and Smart Computing (BigComp), 2021, pp. 375- 377, doi: 10.1109/BigComp51126.2021.00083.
Kandaswamy, S., Hettinger, A. Z., Hoffman, D. J., Ratwani, R. M., & Marquard, J. (2020). Communication through the electronic health record: frequency and implications of free text orders. JAMIA open, 3(2), 154–159. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamiaopen/ooaa020
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2022). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781284234701Links to an external site.
Menachemi, N., & Collum, T. H. (2011). Benefits and drawbacks of electronic health record systems. Risk management and healthcare policy, 4, 47–55. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S12985
Michaels S., MedStar Health Improving Reach of Electronic Health Record,January 11, 2021, https://www.medstarhealth.org/news-and- publications/news/medstar-health-Links to an external site. improving- reach-of-electronic-health-record
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Collapse SubdiscussionSimranjeet Brar Maxine,
Your post is very thorough and descriptive about benefits and potentials risks associated with EHRs and clinical improvements made at your facility using electronic health records (EHR). These revolutionary times provide immense curiosity with unlimited potential and countless possibilities due to the rapid development and evolution of technology equipment. Dykes et al. (2017) addressed how collaborations between healthcare professionals, providers, patients, and family members greatly improve healthcare delivery, safety, and quality. It is possible to enhance safety, provider satisfaction, the standard of care, and patient outcomes by combining patient-centered care with health IT like EHRs.
As a digital backbone for patient care, treatment planning, document management, clinical pathways, workflow managers, billing services, verification, and record systems, numerous healthcare data and tools are also linked into EHRs (Jacobs et al., 2019). The disruption of the patient’s course of care and treatment during the EHR deployment process was highlighted as the main obstacle, despite the fact that this complicated system offers many advantages with its vast range and expanding features. Jacobs et al. (2019) advised being patient throughout the transitioning phase and realizing that interruptions are only present for around six months before becoming greatly reduced or even gone. The nursing profession and healthcare team acquire significant knowledge, efficiency, and data management via the incorporation of different digital systems, tools, technologies, and trends, which also improve patient care and overall results (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).
References
Dykes, P. C., Rozenblum, R., Dalal, A., Massaro, A., Chang, F., Clements, M., Collins, S., Donze, J., Fagan, M., Gazarian, P., Hanna, J., Lehmann, L., Leone, K., Lipsitz, S., McNally, K., Morrison, C., Samal, L., Mlaver, E., Schnock, K., … Bates, D. W. (2017). Prospective evaluation of a multifaceted intervention to improve outcomes in intensive care: The promoting respect and ongoing safety through patient engagement communication and technology study. Critical Care Medicine, 45(8), e806–e813. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000002449.
Jacobs, M., Boersma, L. J., Swart, R., Mannens, R., Reymen, B., Körver, F., van Merode, F., & Dekker, A. (2019). Electronic Health Record implementation in a large academic radiotherapy department: Temporarily disruptions but long-term benefits. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 129, 342–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.07.008
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2022). Administrative information systems. In McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (Ed.), Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge. (5th ed., pp. 207-225). Jones & Bartlett Learning
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Collapse SubdiscussionBertina Boma Soh - General healthcare technology trends in my healthcare organization
- reflect on your healthcare organization’s use of technology and offer a technology trend you observe in your environment.
I work as RN Care Manager for an insurance company. The healthcare organization I work for has always been an early technology adapter. We’ve been using electronic patient records since 2010. One trend I have observed in my environment is the utilization of telehealth services. Telehealth provides patients with easier access to physicians and other medical specialists without having to leave their homes. This helps reduce wait time and travel and lodging costs when visiting distant hospitals or clinics (Wong et al., 2019). For example, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, my organization upscaled its telehealth equipment to offer video conferencing or phone calls to provide remote medical care. Some nurses and physicians could provide care from remote offices or homes. This was done to reduce physical contact, which is essential to reduce the spread of COVID-19. From the Quality improvement reports released in the last quarter, my organization has seen more positive outcomes from these remote visits than face-to-face appointments.
- Reflect on the Resources related to digital information tools and technologies.
The resources at my place of work include telehealth software applications such as video conferencing, virtual visits, remote monitoring devices, secure messaging platforms, and others. We also have access to cloud storage solutions that enable us to securely store patient data in a central repository that can be easily accessed from any device connected to the internet. Furthermore, our team has access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools that help us diagnose diseases more accurately and quickly and assist us with research for new advancements in healthcare technology. AI also enables us to practice evidence-based medicine since it makes it easier to identify patterns from past cases that may be useful in similar situations (Wong et al., 2019).
- Consider your healthcare organization’s use of healthcare technologies to manage and distribute information.
My healthcare organization has been actively utilizing a multitude of healthcare technologies to both manage and distribute information securely. These technologies include electronic health quickly accessing patients’ medical history systems designed to store patient data, billing and claims processing systems for insurance companies, pharmacy management systems for medication orders, imaging technology for diagnostic purposes, and more. These various technologies allow my healthcare organization to provide more accurate diagnoses, faster prescription fillings, and improved provider communication. For example, our Electronic Health Records system will enable physicians to quickly access patients’ medical history from any location to make informed decisions about their treatment plan. Additionally, we can manage our in-house pharmacy services with the help of a comprehensive pharmacy management system that helps streamline ordering processes and reduce errors related to drug interactions or dosages.
- Reflect on current and potential future trends, such as use of social media and mobile applications/telehealth, Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled asset tracking, or expert systems/artificial intelligence, and how they may impact nursing practice and healthcare delivery.
In my organization, I have seen cutting-edge technologies implemented and even old technologies used in a way never seen before. For instance, social media has become a way to interact with customers in a way that was never before possible. This has allowed businesses to connect directly with their customers and better understand their needs and wants. This means that patients can now be reached and communicated more directly, allowing for better customer service. I have also seen the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to help automate processes, making them more efficient and cost-effective. This has resulted in a more streamlined workflow and faster turnarounds for patients.
One future trend that I foresee is using predictive analytics and big data. This trend is already being used in many industries and will continue to grow in healthcare. Predictive analytics can identify trends and patterns in patient data, allowing for better and more personalized care. Big data can be used to analyze large amounts of data to identify patterns and correlations that can help predict outcomes and suggest treatments. By leveraging these technologies, healthcare providers can provide better and more efficient patient care. Additionally, the healthcare sector will likely see a boom in mobile application development as patients increasingly look to access their healthcare information and services through their mobile devices. This will allow healthcare providers to remain connected to their patients and to provide better and more personalized care even when they are on the go.
Potential challenges
One potential challenge is the privacy and security risks associated with telehealth services. The internet provides an efficient platform for delivering telehealth services and opens possible safety and privacy concerns. All patient data must be kept confidential and secure. Yet, due to its nature, information sent over the internet may be vulnerable to hacking or other forms of interference from malicious entities. Yet, telehealth services must adhere to the same privacy and security regulations as in-person healthcare services, such as HIPAA. To address these issues, organizations should take appropriate measures to ensure that all patient data remains secure while utilizing telehealth services. This includes data encryption, limited access controls, and robust authentication methods for sensitive information.
Another potential challenge associated with telehealth visits is inadequate technological infrastructure. In some regions, internet connections are too slow or unreliable to ensure that the relationship between patient and doctor remains stable during an appointment. Additionally, if the doctor’s technology is not up-to-date or compatible with the patient’s, it may be impossible to conduct an effective consultation. Furthermore, there may be limits on what kind of services can be provided virtually due to technical barriers such as video resolution or limited communication options.
One potential benefit and one potential risk associated with data safety, legislation, and patient care in telehealth services
Telehealth services have the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry. With technological advancements, telehealth services enable healthcare providers to offer remotely timely and efficient patient care. However, with such technology comes certain risks and benefits associated with data safety, legislation, and patient care. One potential use of telehealth is improved access to care for patients who may not otherwise be able to receive it due to location or transportation issues. It also allows for more efficient patient-provider communication and can reduce the time spent waiting for appointments or in transit between the provider’s office and the patient’s home. In addition, telehealth can reduce costs by reducing travel expenses associated with traditional visits and costs related to staff salaries and overhead expenses (Ali et al., 2020).
One risk is the need for consistent legislation regarding telehealth services between states. Because each state in the U.S. has its laws and regulations surrounding healthcare, it can be challenging to ensure that all providers meet specific standards when providing care through a digital platform (Nicol & Roberts, 2020). This makes it hard to ensure data safety and secure transmission of information, as well as guarantee that patients receive quality care from qualified professionals. Consistency may also lead to gaps in coverage if patients move or require treatment in another state due to differences in provider networks and insurance eligibility requirements across jurisdictional boundaries (Kim et al., 2020).
Most Promising Healthcare Technology Developments for Influencing Healthcare Technology in Nursing Practice
The use of telehealth, or the use of electronic means to provide healthcare services, is evolving rapidly. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing, telehealth has incredible potential to revolutionize nursing practice. AI-driven telehealth can improve patient outcomes by allowing nurses to work more efficiently and accurately while providing improved care. Thanks to AI’s ability to analyze patient data quickly and accurately, nurses can diagnose conditions faster and make recommendations more accurately. In addition, AI-based systems can help nurses better manage their workloads by automatically scheduling tasks based on priority levels. By automating routine tasks such as scheduling appointments or managing medication reminders, nurses can free up time for more complex clinical interventions requiring higher expertise (Kuziemsky et al., 2019)
Contribution to Better Patient Outcomes, Efficiency, and Data Management
Telehealth and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to contribute to improvements in patient care outcomes, efficiencies, and data management in several ways. First, telehealth can enable patients to access healthcare services remotely, which can be especially useful for those who live in rural or underserved areas. This can help to improve patient outcomes by increasing access to care and reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to see a healthcare provider. AI can also be used to analyze patient data and identify patterns or trends indicative of certain health conditions, enabling healthcare providers to identify potential issues earlier and take appropriate action. Secondly, there will be increased efficiencies. Telehealth can help reduce patients’ need to travel to see a healthcare provider, saving time and resources. AI can also automate specific tasks, such as data entry or analysis, which can free up time for healthcare providers to focus on more critical studies. Lastly, there will be improved data management. Digital health records can be used to store and share patient information electronically, which can help to improve the accuracy and accessibility of patient data. AI can also analyze large amounts of data, enabling healthcare providers to identify patterns or trends that may not be immediately obvious to the human eye. This can help to improve decision-making and inform the development of more effective treatment plans (Kuziemsky et al., 2019)
Conclusion
In conclusion, healthcare technology is transforming the industry in exciting ways. The advancements in healthcare technology have enabled hospitals to provide better, more accessible healthcare services. Telehealth has allowed more people to access healthcare services with convenience and ease. While in its early stages, AI promises improved diagnostic accuracy and reduced costs. Healthcare providers must keep up with these trends and utilize them responsibly to ensure quality patient care. It is essential for government organizations and private institutions to collaborate on developing regulations that protect both patients and providers as this technology continues to evolve.
References
Ali, S. A., Arif, T. B., Maab, H., Baloch, M., Manazir, S., Jawed, F., & Ochani, R. K. (2020). Global interest in telehealth during COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of Google Trends™. Cureus, 12(9).
Kim, D. W., Choi, J. Y., & Han, K. H. (2020). Risk management-based security evaluation model for telemedicine systems. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 20(1), 1-14.
Nicol, J. K., & Roberts, J. (2020). Removing regulatory barriers to telehealth before and after COVID-19. Brookings Institution.
Kuziemsky, C., Maeder, A. J., John, O., Gogia, S. B., Basu, A., Meher, S., & Ito, M. (2019). Role of artificial intelligence within the telehealth domain. Yearbook of medical informatics, 28(01), 035-040.
Wong, M. Y. Z., Gunasekeran, D. V., Nusinovici, S., Sabanayagam, C., Yeo, K. K., Cheng, C. Y., & Tham, Y. C. (2021). Telehealth demand trends during the COVID-19 pandemic in the top 50 most affected countries: Infodemiological evaluation. JMIR public health and surveillance, 7(2), e24445.
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Collapse SubdiscussionMansong Ntekim Hello Bertina
Thanks for your informative discussion post. Technological innovations have changed the healthcare industry for good. The telehealth technologies has a great impact on our current care delivery system. Although telehealth was used in the healthcare system, the Covid-19 pandemic popularized telehealth, and there is no going back. Some medical offices have indulged so much into telehealth that it is now considered a cost-saving measure. They use Telehealth rather than pay for office space. Progressively, innovations in telehealth technologies are being acquired and used as an efficient and cost-effective way of delivering and accessing good healthcare services and outcomes (Rutledge, et al., 2017).
The COVID-19 pandemic presented multiple challenges for every facet of the healthcare delivery system. The continued care for patients with and without COVID-19 safely and effectively required changes in practice models. This triggered a shift to telehealth designs in inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings. Providers and patients had to quickly adapt telehealth innovations to prevent and stem the transmission of COVID-19 (Gajarawala and Pelkowski, 2021).
Despite the advantages of telehealth technology, there are barriers to performing comprehensive physical examinations, possibilities for technical difficulties, security breaches, and regulatory barrier (Balestra, 2017)
References
Balestra M. Telehealth and Legal Implications for Nurse Practitioners. Journal for Nurse Practioners. 2018;14(1):33–39. https://www.npjournal.org/article/S1555-4155(17)30808-5/fulltext
Gajarawala SN, Pelkowski JN. Telehealth Benefits and Barriers. Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 2021 Feb;17(2):218-221. doi: 10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.09.013. Epub 2020 Oct 21. PMID: 33106751; PMCID: PMC7577680. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7577680/#bib1
Rutledge CM, Kott K, Schweickert PA, Poston R, Fowler C, Haney TS. Telehealth and eHealth in Nurse Practitioner Training: Current Perspectives. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2017 Jun 26;8:399-409. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S116071. PMID: 28721113; PMCID: PMC5498674. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28721113/
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Collapse SubdiscussionChristiana Nuworsoo Initial Post – Healthcare Information Technology Trends
Since 1999, after the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report “To Err is Human,” which called for the development and testing of new
technologies to reduce medical errors, there has been an accelerated adoption of health information with varying degrees of its impact
on patient safety (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). Healthcare technology has come a long way, with the adoption of electronic health records
(EHR), the artificial intelligence of Things (AIoT), wearable medical devices, and as a result of Covid-19, telehealth. It will continue to push
the boundaries of how healthcare is delivered to ensure patient safety and optimum patient care. At my current organization, all the
technologies mentioned earlier are in use; however, my favorite is handheld devices for medication administration. Imagine going to a
Covid’-19 patient’s room with a workstation on wheels (WOW). Stressful, but with a small handheld device integrated with your
charting system, it is much easier.
Many challenges or risks arise in implementing new technologies, and healthcare technologies are no exception. These challenges
include initial high cost, technical issues, system interoperability, concerns about privacy and confidentiality, and a need for a well-
trained clinical informatics workforce to lead the process (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, n.d.). Anything new and
innovative can be costly; one must weigh the benefits and risks and decide which is more important. EHRs have proven to benefit
healthcare even with their challenges greatly.
There are many benefits associated with the technologies above. The benefits of EHR include improved patient care, quick access
to patient information at the point of care, integration of patient information from multiple sources, and improved communication
between providers, nurses, and patients (HealthIT.gov, 2017). Even with all these benefits, there are still risks involved that healthcare
management needs to work hard and diligently to overcome. Potential risks associated with data safety include security breaches such
as phishing attacks, malware, overlooked gaps in encryption, cloud threats, and employee negligence (Jericich, 2022). It is essential to
prevent employees from being able to access specific sites from hospital computers because that is where most of the data breaches
occur.
AIoT and telehealth are the most promising healthcare technology trends that impact healthcare technology in nursing. AIoT
allows for nurturing the development of the intellectual properties of the devices we use. Telehealth is healthcare services delivered by
telecommunication tools such as telephones, videophones, smartphones, and computers (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). Once upon a
time, to search for something in google, you had to type it. Nowadays, you can easily activate the voice function and tell google or Siri
what you are looking for. When my kids couldn’t spell searching for a show on YouTube, they used the voice feature to tell YouTube what
they were searching for; how convenient.
Telehealth is on the rise and has become very popular due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With an aging population and the nursing
shortage, telehealth might be the solution to ensuring that care is still provided when needed. Incorporating telehealth services into
nursing can help lower healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes by ensuring that more individuals can receive timely nursing care
(Gagnon, 2020). AIoT and telehealth will decrease costs, which will significantly benefit any institution. AIoT makes it easy to access
information, and Telehealth makes it easy to access healthcare. Both are efficient and will improve patient outcomes in the long run,
making it easier to achieve the goal of healthcare, patient safety, and optimum care.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (n.d.). Barriers to HIT implementation. Retrieved January 4, 2023 from
https://digital.ahrq.gov/barriers-hit-implementationLinks to an external site.
Alotaibi, Y. K., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi medical journal, 38(12), 1173–
1180. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2017.12.20631Links to an external site.
Gagnon, D. (2020). The role of telehealth in nursing. Southern New Hampshire University. Retrieved January 3, 2023, from
HealthIT.gov. (2018c). What is an electronic health record (EHR)? Retrieved from
https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-Links to an external site.record-ehrLinks to an external site.
Jericich, K. (2022). HHS cyber arm warns of HER vulnerabilities. HealthITNews. Retrieved January 3, 2023 from
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Collapse SubdiscussionRemi Oluremi Ojo Hi christiana,
I agree with you that telehealth is one of the most promising healthcare technology trends that impact healthcare technology in nursing. Promoting telemedicine/telehealth will have the greatest and most positive impact in the healthcare industry. The healthcare delivery marketplace is experiencing expansion due to advances in technology, making it possible to receive access to healthcare, where in previous times had been gaps (Litwin, 2021). The remote location and places where care had been unavailable are now allowing healthcare clinicians to provide care to their patients via Telehealth. Telemedicine makes it possible to telemonitor patients with chronic conditions and to improve their quality of care. They can be given equipment to monitor their vital signs and blood glucose. This allows for patients to have regular visits with their providers, this saves time and prevent missed appointments caused by various factors (Snoswell et al, 2020).
References
Litwin A. S. (2021). Technological change and frontline care delivery work: Toward the quadruple aim. Advances in health care management, 20, 10.1108/S1474-823120210000020005. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1474-823120210000020005
Snoswell, C. L., Taylor, M. L., Comans, T. A., Smith, A. C., Gray, L. C., & Caffery, L. J. (2020). Determining if telehealth can reduce health system costs: Scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(10), N.PAG.
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Collapse SubdiscussionRemi Oluremi Ojo Healthcare Information Technology Trends
The healthcare system globally has tremendously benefitted from the advancement of technology. The technology trend related to data that I have observed in my organization and that is most promising for impacting healthcare technology is the use of barcode medication administration (BCMA). The administration of medication is a complex process that involves pharmacists, medical professionals, and nurses. It requires several steps such as prescribing, transcribing and dispensing administration which is prone to a potential risk of errors resulting in harming the patient. Most medication errors occur as a result of human errors such as negligence, fatigue, lack of concentration, decreased knowledge, and stress. In the past, my facility recorded a high amount of medication error incidents and studies also show that many patients have experienced harm caused by medication errors. These errors, therefore, created a need for an improved medication administration system (Naidu & Alicia, 2019). Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) systems utilize an electronic scanning tool to scan a bar code on a patient’s wristband to verify that they have the right patient and scan the bar code on the medication to verify that they are about the administer the right medication. The BCMA system detects medication errors before the administration of the medication because the information encrypted in the patient’s identification tag barcode and the medication pack allows the nurse or clinician confirms the five rights of medication administration. It verifies that the clinician has the right patient, medication, and dose, given at the right time via the right route. BCMA systems linked with electronic medication administration records (eMARs) are designed to avoid medication errors at the time of administering medication to patients and maintain a patient safety culture (Saleem, 2023). The system is also linked with electronic health records (EHR) to check for allergies and vital signs. This has reduced medication-related errors, improved clinical outcomes, and provided cost-effective treatment for patients in my facility.
The potential challenge is the identification of the noncompliance attitude of clinicians toward the usage of the BCMA system. Nurses sometimes do not comply with scanning the bar codes before administering the medication because they are reluctant to use the system due to not being familiar with how to use the system. Some nurses complain that sometimes the scanner is unable to read the bar codes, thereby prolonging the time spent on administering medications. Some nurses are resistant to change and prefer to stick to their old way of doing things, while others believe they are familiar with the patients in the case of long-term facilities (Mulac, et al., 2021). As a result of these reasons, nurses skip confirming patient identification putting them at risk of getting misidentified. The solution to this problem is to organize training programs for the nurses based on the use of the specific system, its risk, and its benefits. The success of the technology innovation is to convince the staff, leadership, and management to embrace the change. The execution of the BCMA and e-MAR in the organization needs cooperation from the management and staff. It is crucial for them to realize the crisis in the increasing number of medication errors.
Potential benefits associated with the use of the BCMA system linked with eMARs are that it prevents errors that were caused by physicians’ unreadable handwriting and ensures that the right dosage of medication with available information is being administered to the right patient for the right documentation. This technology’s main purpose is to decrease medication errors to ensure that the correct medication is administered to the right patients thereby observing the rights of medication administration.
The potential risk associated with the use of the BCMA system linked with eMARs is the risk of malfunctions, high cost, and cybercrime. The inability to scan the bar codes due to technology failure, damaged labels, and malfunctioning software may impair the use of the BCMA system and decrease safety benefits. BCMA and e-MAR require adequate finances to purchase the software, equipment, and technical support, which may not be feasible for some healthcare organizations especially private organizations, and this may delay the launching of technological advancement. The BCMA with eMAR is prone to cyberattacks or ransom because of patient information that is online. Some hackers hold patients’ medical data hostage and request a large amount of money before releasing the data.
References
Mulac, A., Mathiesen, L., Taxis, K., & Gerd Granås, A. (2021). Barcode medication administration technology use in hospital practice: a mixed-methods observational study of policy deviations. BMJ quality & safety, 30(12), 1021–1030. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2021-013223
Naidu, M. and Alicia, Y. (2019) Impact of bar-code medication administration and electronic medication administration record system in clinical practice for an effective medication administration process. Health, 11, 511-526. doi: 10.4236/health.2019.115044.
Saleem M. (2023). Barcode medication administration technology to prevent medication errors. Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons–Pakistan : JCPSP, 33(1), 107–108. https://doi.org/10.29271/jcpsp.2023.01.107
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Collapse SubdiscussionAdrienne Aasand Response #1
Remi,
Thank you for your discussion about bar code medication administration (BCMA) as a healthcare technology trend. As you stated, a very important benefit of BCMA is reducing the number of medication errors and ensuring the right medication and dose is given to the right patient. Medication administration errors can directly harm patients and can lead to prolonged hospitalization, morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare costs (Jessurun et al., 2022). And you also state in your discussion that a challenge of using BCMA is the high cost. I read one study that compared these two issues, it evaluated the cost-effectiveness of BCMA compared to usual care. The conclusion of the study found that the costs per avoided error are relatively low, therefore the BCMA is an important strategy to improve patient safety in hospitals (Jessurun et al., 2022).
You also mention in your discussion that a risk of using BCMA is nursing staff not complying with scanning medications prior to administration. I read a study that gathered information about “workarounds” related to the BCMA. The purpose of the study was to identify workarounds because this information helps to develop better software that will fit the nurse workflow. The study used disguised observation and included over five thousand medication administrations. In 62.7% of the administrations, one or more workarounds were observed. The conclusion was that nurse workload and patient to nurse ratios are directly related to BCMA workarounds, leading to higher medication administration errors (Vanderveen et al., 2022). Therefore, healthcare organizations implementing a new BCMA system need to be sure the system fits the nurses’ workflow so they are able to use this costly technology to benefit the safety of patients.
References
Jessurun, J., Hunfeld, N., Vandijk, M., Vandendemt, P. & Polinder, S. (2022). Cost-effectiveness of central automated unit dose dispensing with
barcode-assisted medication administration in a hospital setting. Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy, 18(11), 3980-3987.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.07.006Links to an external site.
Vanderveen, W. Taxis, K., Wouters, H., Vermeulen, H., Bates, D. & Vandenbemt, P. (2020). Factors associated with workarounds in barcode-
assisted medication administration in hospitals. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(13-14), 2239-2250. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15217
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Collapse SubdiscussionJamee Renee Linnenbrink Health Care Technology
Technology has significantly changed in the last 20 years. Even in the past 10 years that I have been a nurse, there have been significant changes in
the way we document, the technology for treatment, the way medical records are stored, telehealth, and the way that hospitals give access to patient
results and charts. The organization that I currently work for calls it “My Chart”, but other organizations have different names for the website or link that
allows patients access to their notes and chart. The increased access for patients to their charts is driven by the push for patient autonomy in the last
10-15 years (Costa et al, 2020). There are many benefits to patient autonomy and being a part of their own healthcare and having access to all of their
own medical records. One of the downfalls is that patients have access to information that they may not understand. Slightly off lab results that have no
significant meanings, or normal results of radiology exams with normal age-related changes that patients may not realize are normal. Doctors may put
language in a chart that the patient may not understand. In my own doctor’s office, I have access to my own lab results before my provider may have
time to review them. If something was off and the provider may not review them for several days (which is a normal time frame in a doctor’s office
unless the result is critical) this can lead to the patient being upset.
Potential Technology Difficulties
Living in a time of technology and infinite amounts of data, the time comes with large amounts of data breaches. Between 2015-2020, there have been
an estimated 157.40 million healthcare data breaches (Seh et al, 2020). The breaches include insurance information, names, social security numbers,
birth dates, and more. This information can be used for a multitude of things, but as an individual, this is deeply invasive and gives a strong sense of
vulnerability. When a patient checks into a hospital there is a large amount of information given and then continues to be collected once that visit
continues, such as test results, and even payment information. Also, the age of digital is a concern for the older population, the more that we move
toward digital communication we create a deficit for the aging population and the populations that have no access to the internet, smartphones, or
computers (Portz et al, 2019).
Outcomes
Even with the gap in technology use between age groups the aging population is getting better with technology as it is needed for many things in life.
The use of digital access patients have to their own files will continue to benefit healthcare providers as well as patients. This gives healthcare workers
easy access to results, charts, and also communication. No more “missed calls” and possible HIPPA violations with voicemails. Patients also have the
ability to easily message questions to the provider’s team. This specific technology will continue to grow with each company and the newer best version
will continue to appear.
References
Seh, A. H., Zarour, M., Alenezi, M., Sarkar, A. K., Agrawal, A., Kumar, R., & Ahmad Khan, R. (2020, June). Healthcare data breaches: insights and
implications. In Healthcare (Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 133). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
D’Costa, S. N., Kuhn, I. L., & Fritz, Z. (2020). A systematic review of patient access to medical records in the acute setting: practicalities, perspectives and
ethical consequences. BMC medical ethics, 21(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-020-0459-6Links to an external site.
Portz, J. D., Bayliss, E. A., Bull, S., Boxer, R. S., Bekelman, D. B., Gleason, K., & Czaja, S. (2019). Using the technology acceptance model to explore user
experience, intent to use, and use behavior of a patient portal among older adults with multiple chronic conditions: descriptive qualitative
study. Journal of medical Internet research, 21(4), e11604.
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Collapse SubdiscussionAdrienne Aasand Response #2
Jamee,
Thank you for your discussion post about the challenges and opportunities of offering a patient portal such as My Chart to patients. Where I work we also offer a patient portal where patients can view their lab results, provider notes, radiology exams, and pathology reports. The challenges you mentioned in your post are also relevant where I work. I receive multiple calls a week from patients who are upset that their lab results show abnormalities – they are concerned that this indicates their cancer has progressed. It can be difficult for patients to understand that often a slightly abnormal lab is not significant to their disease status. This results in unnecessary distress for patients who are already under a lot of stress.
You also mention radiology exams in your post. The Information Blocking Statute (part of the 21stCentury Cures Act) went into effect in April 2021. This was designed to “promote health date interoperability between patients, providers, and payers by deterring barriers to the timely access and efficient exchange of patients’ electronic health information” (Leonard et al., 2022, p. 27). Before this statute was created, complex or distressing results were delayed to allow the provider to discuss with the patient first. Now, all results are released for patients to view immediately when completed. A benefit of this information sharing is that it supports a trusted patient-provider relationship and empowers patients to participate in their own care (Leonard et al., 2022). A challenge of this is that patients often see distressing, complex results before they understand their meaning. Where I work, our providers do their best to review radiology exams and pathology results before the patient can see them, but sometimes this is not possible. This results in confusion and stress for the patient as they are trying to understand these reports without guidance from their provider.
One study I read investigated attitudes, experiences, and opinions about the release of normal versus abnormal results, the timing of the release to patients relative to communication with the provider, and the impact of electronic release of reports to patients. The conclusion of the study was that patients are not able to interpret results as written, because reports are written for clinicians, not patients. In addition, when patients research medical terminology found in reports it leads to additional misunderstanding and anxiety (Winget et al., 2016).
There are many benefits to patients having access to their medical records, but it puts added stress on the provider to correct misinformation gathered by the patients as a result of reviewing a result too early. Providers often do not have time for this additional discussion and it can fall on the nurse. Overall, I believe patients should have access to their health information, but I believe there should be a safeguard on the system to be sure a provider can discuss a distressing result prior to patient access.
References
Leonard, L., Himelhoch, B., Huynh, V., Wolverton, D., Jaiswal, K., Ahrendt, G., Sams, S., Cumbler, E., Schulick, R. & Tevis, S. (2022). Patient and
clinician perceptions of the immediate release of electronic health information. American Journal of Surgery, 224(1 Pt A), 27-34.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.12.002Links to an external site.
Winget, M., Haji-Sheikhi, F., Brown-Johnson, C., Rosenthal, E., Sharp, C., Buyyounouski, M., Asch, S. (2016). Electronic release of pathology and
radiology results to patients: Opinions and experiences of oncologists. Journal of Oncology Practice, 12(8), 729-730.
https://doi.org/10.1200/JOP.2016.011098
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Collapse SubdiscussionRoberto Monroy Hello Jamee
Thanks for the insightful post; I agree that electronic health records continue to innovate how clinicians and patients access health records. EHR improves efficiency, improves communication among physicians, decreases workloads among staff, and significantly improves accessibility (Tsai et al., 2020). Unfortunately, in my facility, we do not have EHRs, and I have yet to see the benefits in my practice; I hope some type of EHR will be implemented soon! There have been talks about this; however, the price of converting a psychiatric facility that has done paper charting for 50+ years seems to be the deal breaker.
Data breaches are a huge concern when dealing with electronic internet-based systems. Hackers are said to steal sensitive information such as social security numbers and sell them for hundreds of dollars; data breaches have affected over 173 million people since 2009 (Koczkodaj et al., 2019). Security systems will need to be improved to keep patient information safe and aid in the progression of EHRs.References
Koczkodaj, W. W., Masiak, J., Mazurek, M., Strzałka, D., & Zabrodskii, P. F. (2019). Massive Health Record Breaches Evidenced by the Office for Civil Rights Data. Iranian
journal of public health, 48(2), 278–288.Tsai, C. H., Eghdam, A., Davoody, N., Wright, G., Flowerday, S., & Koch, S. (2020). Effects of Electronic Health Record Implementation and Barriers to Adoption and Use: A Scoping Review and Qualitative Analysis of the Content. Life (Basel, Switzerland), 10(12), 327. https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120327
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Collapse SubdiscussionRemi Oluremi Ojo Hi Jamee,
Thank you for your informative post on MyChart app in your organization. I searched how MyChart application started and found out that MyChart application started as MyChart Bedside offered by Epic and it is an application that grants patients access to view their electronic health records (EHR) during their inpatient hospitalization. Its purpose is to enhance inpatient engagement, and education and strengthen patient-healthcare team relationships. Patients can view their information such as medical procedures, vital signs, medications, and laboratory results in real-time with MyChart Bedside. Patients can access educational information, learn about their healthcare team, and request services. MyChart Bedside functionality may vary depending on its specific features which are determined during implementation. The first hospital in the world to implement MyChart Bedside is St. Rita’s Medical Center in 2013, it was first piloted on a single unit and finally extended to nearly the whole hospital by August 2015 (Winstanley et al., 2017). The application was accessible on tablets that the hospital provided for the initial two years of execution and by December 2015, there was an upgrade that allowed patients to access MyChart Bedside from their personal devices (Winstanley et al., 2017). Presently, MyChart account has become more prevalent, giving patients access to their health information during their inpatient stay and after hospitalization. Patients’ experiences have been overall positive, indicating that it is an effective tool for increasing patients’ understanding of medications and communication with nurses (Avdagovska et al., 2020).
References
Avdagovska, M., Ballermann, M., Olson, K., Graham, T., Menon, D., & Stafinski, T. (2020). Patient portal implementation and uptake: Qualitative comparative case study. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(7), e18973. https://doi.org/10.2196/18973
Winstanley, E. L., Burtchin, M., Zhang, Y., Campbell, P., Pahl, J., Beck, S., & Bohenek, W. (2017). Inpatient experiences with MyChart Bedside. Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association, 23(8), 691–693. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2016.0132
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Collapse SubdiscussionMansong Ntekim Week 5 Discussion
There have been great innovations in health technology over many years of practice of medicine, but scantly has any impacted the practice of medicine than digital technology. Dramatic improvements in networking and computers have not only expanded options for medical treatments but have also transformed how clinicians perform their jobs. From massive diagnostic imaging scanners to tiny wearable sensors, technology is an integral part of modern healthcare (IBM, n. d.). Using technology to measure and capture data across the whole system of patient care gives health organizations a big-picture view of how they’re performing. Technology also helps to automate that measurement so organizations can continuously review their results, spot issues that need to be fixed and uncover ways to enhance care and the patient experience (IBM, n. d.).
The use of Vocera badge was introduced into our facility in 2015 due to complaints of staff lack-luster attitude towards their duties, to keep track of staff whereabouts, to improve on-time communications (voice or text) between staff members, or secure texting to contact a physician or other care team members, alert on the location of staff and patient, and to reduce the noise of frequent over-heard paging of staff in the facility. The use of Vocera badge has improved on-time contact and communication between staff, the alert/panic button helps to summon immediate assistance for staff or patients’ that need immediate assistance. The device has greatly reduced the incidence of staff disappearance from their duty post or remaining out of contact. In a mental health unit like ours, the safety of the staff and patients are crucial, and the Vocera badge is a needed technological innovation.
The efficacy of any technological innovation is as good as the commitment of its users. Despite the benefits of the Vocera system, there are still challenges with the commitments of some of the users. There are instances where the nurse or the mental health tech (MHT) leave the Vocera badge at the nursing station or elsewhere and walk away. There was a situation where a MHT could not account for his Vocera badge at the end of the shift and search of the unit ensued. The badge was found under a patient’s mattress. The misplacement of the Vocera device by staff could place patients sensitive information in the wrong hands, a HIPPA violation.
There is the risk of data safety if the receiver of the message does not have a headset. Users of Vocera are trained to interrupt the sender of the message or use the pause button, then move to a secured location before relaying any patient related information (Vocera Communications, n. d.). The use over improves patients’ outcomes. A nurse mentioned a situation when she was with a patient in the lab and the patient went into respiratory distress, The nurse didn’t have to leave her patient to find a phone, nor take her focus from what she was doing. She just pressed the alert button and help arrived timely.
The Vocera technology has a promising potential in the future of nursing practice, according to Halifax Health (2017), “One of the most interesting new alerts connects the Vocera Communication System to a new point-of-care decision-support application from Lippincott Solutions. The software monitors patient data gathered from the EHR system, looking for early signs of a developing infection. When it sees trouble, the system automatically sends an alarm to the appropriate nurse’s Vocera Badge. With this early warning, the hospital staff can act immediately to accelerate treatment and ensure a patient’s speedy recovery.”
Reference
Hallfax health (2017). Halifax Health Ensures Communication Security, Ends Up Reducing Patient Stress and Wait Times. https://www.vocera.com/sites/default/files/VC-3032%20Halifax%20Health%20Case%20Study.pdf
IBM (N. D.) How technology has changed Healthcare. https://www.ibm.com/ph-en/topics/healthcare-technology Links to an external site..
Vocera Communications (n. d.). HIPPA Data Security and Privacy Standards for Voice Communications Over a Wireless LAN. https://www.vocera.com/sites/default/files/resources/wp_hipaa_0108_v1.pdf