Healthcare Information Technology Trends
Throughout history, technological advancements have appeared for one purpose before finding applications elsewhere that lead to spikes in its usage and development. The internet, for example, was originally developed to share research before becoming a staple of work and entertainment. But technology—new and repurposed—will undoubtedly continue to be a driver of healthcare information. Informaticists often stay tuned to trends to monitor what the next new technology will be or how the next new idea for applying existing technology can benefit outcomes.
In this Discussion, you will reflect on your healthcare organization’s use of technology and offer a technology trend you observe in your environment.
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To Prepare:
Reflect on the Resources related to digital information tools and technologies.
Consider your healthcare organization’s use of healthcare technologies to manage and distribute information.
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.
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.
Healthcare Trends in the Workplace
In my workplace, one common trend that has gained momentum in patient care is using electronic health records. Since its implementation, several positive effects have surfaced. These have improved patient outcomes and the organization’s general productivity through inter-professional cooperation. The nurse informaticists have, for instance, gained relevance with the implementation of the electronic health records given that they have been involved in the decision-making process because they continuously gather information from the electronic health records and identify ways of improving some of the challenges affecting patients (Al-Hawamdih & Ahmad, 2018). For instance, accidental patient falls have long been a significant challenge in healthcare. Still, with the implementation of the EHR, there has been a significant reduction in the number of reported cases associated with patient falls. In particular, mid-last year, the nurse informaticists led the implementation of bedside alarms that patients use to communicate, reducing their unnecessary movement that sometimes leads to accidental falls. Also, MyChart, one of the applications provided by the EHR, has been essential in remote patient commination, for instance, during the outbreak of COVID-19 when people developed the fear of visiting healthcare facilities (Avdagovska et al., 2020).
Challenges and Risks in the Workplace
The main challenge with electronic health records is the language barrier, affecting the interactive process between the healthcare provider and patients (Rajaram et al., 2020). One of the most valuable features, MyChart is designed in English, and several patients do not speak or understand English. Despite having the ability to change a language, most of the icons are designed in English, hence, the ability to meet the translation privilege. For instance, I have had several patients speaking the Somali language, which is not included as an option among the languages provided by the system. However, some Spanish-speaking patients are privileged, given that their language is part of the options.
Benefits and Risks with Safety, Legislation, and Patient Care
One significant benefit of telehealth is improved after discharge patient monitoring because with the use of telehealth, it is convenient to monitor and communicate with patients at the convenience of their homes (Atilgan et al., 2021). With the advancements in telehealth, healthcare providers performing after-discharge follow-ups have it more accessible to monitor patients by calling them and discussing significant issues without traveling.
The significant risk associated with implementing electronic health records is the violation of patient privacy because some of the family members may hear sensitive patient information that they could otherwise not hear if the patient had visited a healthcare facility. While making follow-up calls, at some point, the call may be received by the patient when in the company of other family members, thereby revealing sensitive information that may violate HIPPA privacy laws.
Healthcare Trends for the Future
Some of the future healthcare trends that are playing significant roles in enhancing patient outcomes are the development of wearable devices that are useful in monitoring patients. Wearable devices play a significant role in patient monitoring as they can give essential information such as the physical activity of elderly patients (Dooley et al., 2017).
References
Al-Hawamdih, S., & Ahmad, M. M. (2018). Examining the relationship between nursing informatics competency and the quality of information processing. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 36(3), 154-159.
Atilgan, K., Onuk, B. E., Köksal Coşkun, P., Yeşi̇l, F. G., Aslan, C., Çolak, A., … & Bozbaş, H. (2021). Remote patient monitoring after cardiac surgery: the utility of a novel telemedicine system. Journal of Cardiac Surgery, 36(11), 4226-4234.
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.
Dooley, E. E., Golaszewski, N. M., & Bartholomew, J. B. (2017). Estimating accuracy at exercise intensities: a comparative study of self-monitoring heart rate and physical activity wearable devices. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 5(3), e7043.
Rajaram, A., Thomas, D., Sallam, F., Verma, A. A., & Rawal, S. (2020). Accuracy of the preferred language field in the electronic health records of two Canadian hospitals. Applied Clinical Informatics, 11(04), 644-649.