The Impact of Technology in Nursing Essay Example

Introduction

There is always a rush to achieve efficiency and stimulate optimal operation in every sector of the economy. The case is not different in the medical field, and narrowing down to nursing, there is the hot pursuit of the establishment of eHealth that ensures accuracy and efficiency (Lewig et al., 2017). A typical example through which this achieved is the use of computer-based systems to help nurses process, store and exchange patient data to enhance the management and prevention of chronic illnesses (Rouleau et al., 2015). The use of technology in nursing has some health benefits to patients while enhancing efficiency among nurses. Below is a breakdown of how it goes down.

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Improved Quality of Healthcare

The use of technology centers medical care towards the patient, and this improves the quality of services rendered (Alreshid, 2017). Consider a situation where health records are neatly kept in Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) or Electronic Health Records (EHRs). There is no chance that nurses will confuse patient file, and end up administering the wrong medications to the wrong patients. Some of these confusions arise where nurses are exhausted, and yet patient names could be similar, or instead when patients share one or two features as described in their files. Technologies such as filing and data entry systems help nurses plan their work, deliver and finally review their work to ensure that nothing is out of place (Rouleau et al., 2017). To this end, it is clear that Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) limit probable errors that may cause fatality to the medical team as well as patients (Lewing et al., 2017). These strategies help nurses through outstanding diagnostic process and consequently clinical decisions that facilitate viable treatment, and in line within the treatment frameworks. The last point to this feature is subject to the wellbeing of nurses. Unlike traditional nursing models, new technologies initiate working structures that enhance their performance (King et al., 2014). Such a phenomenon amounts to the overall efficiency. As such, there is no way a nursed would ignore duty or mistake anything whatsoever.

Ehealth Informatics

In nursing as well as health care in general, there are problems addressed through the incorporation of Information Technology. The most prominent problems are the wrong diagnosis, incomplete self-management among nurses as well as cases in which there are minimal or no follow-up on the patients (Celi, 2017). The point here is the integration of information and processes among the primary, secondary as well as tertiary levels of medical care. The net effect of this is ensuring consistency among the three stages. The advantage of integrating health care services is fundamental during emergencies as well as any other case as it deems fit. Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs) are typical examples of this phenomenon. IDN is achieved through Nursing Informatics (NI) (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). In such cases, several health care providers come together under one roof and assist one another wherever, and whenever necessary (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2017). The general scope of technology in medical activities confers efficiency, quality, and actionable medical services. This is achieved because it streamlines medical activities, and thus enables nurses to perform better, and efficiently.

Conclusion

In health care, there is a need for efficiency because its activities touch on the highly sensitive human life. Over time, nursing has been facing severe crises due to mistakes and inefficiencies among nurses. However, the rise of nursing informatics established grounds for efficiency through the use of technology. A typical example through which this is achieved is through the digitization of health records which enables nurses to access accurate patient information, especially history.

References

Alreshidi, N. M. (2017). The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Nursing Practice. JOJ Nursing & Health Care, 1(1). doi:10.19080/jojnhc.2017.01.555555

Celi, L. A. G. (2017). Global health informatics: Principles of eHealth and mHealth to improve quality of care. Cambridge (MA: MIT Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=8p-rDgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=ehealth+principles&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxr_nR1ovgAhVa8OAKHa0GA_gQ6AEIMjAC#v=onepage&q=ehealth%20principles&f=false

King, A., Long, L., & Lisy, K. (2014). The effectiveness of team nursing compared with total patient care on staff wellbeing when organizing nursing work in acute care ward settings: a systematic review protocol. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 12(1), 59-73. doi:10.11124/jbisrir-2014-1533

Lewing, B. D., Hatfield, M. D., & Sansgiry, S. S. (2017). Impact of Computerized Provider Order Entry Systems on hospital staff pharmacist workflow productivity: A three-site comparative analysis based on the level of CPOE implementation. Journal of Hospital Administration, 7(1), 1. Sciedu Press. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322005320_Impact_of_Computerized_Provider_Order_Entry_Systems_on_hospital_staff_pharmacist_workflow_productivity_A_three_site_comparative_analysis_based_on_level_of_CPOE_implementation

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. Burlington Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2015. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=I4GHCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=nursing+informatics&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdw8e_3IvgAhXGThUIHefSD10Q6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=nursing%20informatics&f=false

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P. A., & Hall, A. (2017). Fundamentals of Nursing. St. Louis: Elsevier, [2017]. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=eCKKCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17&dq=integration+of+primary,+secondary+and+tertiary+health+care+services&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3vNr92IvgAhVJ8uAKHTw4DmsQ6AEIQzAF#v=onepage&q=integration%20of%20primary%2C%20secondary%20and%20tertiary%20health%20care%20services&f=false

Rouleau, G., Gagnon, M., & Cote, J. (2015). Impacts of information and communication technologies on nursing care: an overview of systematic reviews (protocol). Systematic Reviews, 4(1). doi:10.1186/s13643-015-0062-y

Rouleau, G., Gagnon, M., Cote, J., Payne-Gagnon, J., Hudson, E., & Dubois, C. (2017). Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Nursing Care: Results of an Overview of Systematic Reviews. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(4), e122. doi:10.2196/jmir.6686