Summary of Technology Recommendations Sample Paper
Technology #1
Recommended Technology: Electronic lifts and smart beds for lifting and monitoring patients
Purpose: Electronic lifts help patients move from a position to the other without help from healthcare providers. The lifts are good walking aids and prevent patient falls by providing support. Fewer nurses are thus required for patient monitoring. Nurses also benefit from decreased musculoskeletal problems that arise from lifting heavy patients daily.
Potential Use and Users: The electric lifts are used by patients with severely compromised mobility and other health issues. Smart beds are widely used in ICU settings to monitor patients’ baseline data such as vital signs.
Technology Acceptance: Electric lifts are widely used within and outside the hospital. Smart beds are used in ICU facilities to monitor patients closely and continually assess their needs to ensure continued quality care delivery (Möller, Fänge, & Hansson, 2021).
Technology #2
Recommended Technology: Telehealth to provide and coordinate healthcare services within and outside the healthcare facility.
Purpose: Telehealth is integral in providing healthcare services to patients who cannot access healthcare services in person. Telehealth, through video conferencing, allows healthcare professionals to provide consultation and treatment services to patients (Reeves, Ayers, & Longhurst, 2021). The healthcare provider can assess and prescribe treatment or determine if a physical meeting is essential for a specific patient.
Potential Use and Users: Both patients and healthcare providers benefit from this innovation. Patients can have appointments at the comfort of their homes or in between their busy schedules.
Technology Acceptance: According to the available statistics, patients prefer online meetings to physical meetings, especially after the coronavirus (Reeves et al., 2021). The technology is acceptable due to the convenience of internet-driven technology. Telehealth also saves on costs significantly hence the widespread fame and acceptability.
Technology #3
Recommended Technology: Wearable technology left in contact with the patient’s body for purposes such as monitoring.
Purpose: Wearable technology allows nurses and other healthcare providers to interact with their patients even when not in the hospital. These technologies allow for continuous patient assessment and recording of baseline data. Most common are movement and vital signs wearable sensors. Movement wearable sensors enable patient monitoring in high-risk patients and prevent falls.
Potential Use and Users: Wearable technology is common among ICU patients and other high-risk patients with severe musculoskeletal problems and neurological problems. The technology enables the monitoring of vital signs and movement.
Technology Acceptance: Wearable technology is widely accepted, and these sensors are used to prevent patient falls in healthcare settings. The devices are easy to fix and attach, and patients do not require much education on their use and maintenance.
Technology #4
Recommended Technology: Smartphones for communication and coordination of nursing activities.
Purpose: Smartphones were not initially made for healthcare purposes, but their use is crucial in nursing practice (Flynn et al., 2021). Smartphones are essential in communication between nurses and other healthcare providers, and patients. Smartphones also contain unique apps connected to sensors and monitors that relay crucial information to the patients and nurses. The applications also help relay information during emergencies without arousing panic.
Potential Use and Users: Nurses can use this technology to communicate with other nurses, healthcare providers, and patients. Smartphones help communicate effectively and efficiently without.
Technology Acceptance: Smartphones are widely used in nursing practice. Nurses can communicate with the patients, for example, to remind them of their appointments (such as tuberculosis clinic), trace defaulters, and for follow-up purposes (Pucciarelli et al., 2019). Smartphones and smartphone apps are easy to use, and virtually all healthcare providers own and know how to use smartphones.
Technology #5
Recommended Technology: Point of care technology where all interventions in patient care occur without leaving the room.
Purpose: This technology utilizes tablets, smartphones, laptops, and computers and allows healthcare providers to collect data and provide healthcare services to patients under one roof. A nurse can update records, create and update treatment plans without getting out of the room (Nguyen et al., 2017). This technology ensures no time or resource wasted. It also enhances organization and promotes efficiency.
Potential Use and Users: The technology has been widely utilized significantly to enhance patient-centered care. The technology also enhances patient satisfaction through being involved in their care. This technology is helpful to patients, nurses, and other healthcare providers. Healthcare providers can easily track a patient’s progress and thus improve care interventions where needed.
Technology Acceptance: Point of care interventions have been in use for some time. An example is the bedside patient handing over and documentation which has been popularized to reduce the prevalence of medication errors (Nguyen et al., 2017). Point of care technology is widely used, especially after the transition from hospital-centered to patient-centered care.
References
- Flynn, G. A. H., Polivka, B., & Behr, J. H. (2018). Smartphone use by nurses in acute care settings. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 36(3), 120-126. doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000400
- Möller, U. O., Fänge, A. M., & Hansson E. E., (2021). Modern technology against falls–A description of the MoTFall project. Health informatics journal, 27(2), 14604582211011514. https://doi.org/10.1177/14604582211011514
- Nguyen, L., Wickramasinghe, N., Redley, B., Haddad, P., Muhammad, I., & Botti, M. (2017). Exploring nurses’ reactions to electronic nursing documentation at the point of care. Information Technology & People. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-10-2015-0269
- Pucciarelli, G., Simeone, S., Virgolesi, M., Madonna, G., Proietti, M. G., Rocco, G., & Stievano, A. (2019). Nursing-related smartphone activities in the Italian nursing population: A descriptive study. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 37(1), 29-38. Doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000474
- Reeves, J. J., Ayers, J. W., & Longhurst, C. A. (2021). Telehealth in the COVID-19 era: A balancing act to avoid harm. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(2), e24785. Doi: 10.2196/24785
- Wilson, D. (2017, April). An overview of the application of wearable technology to nursing practice. In Nursing Forum (Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 124-132). https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12177
