Introduction
Technology has proven very influential in the transformation of healthcare. Implementation and incorporation of the new technology have generally been accepted by nurses in healthcare practice. The combination of sensitized patient care and advanced technology has been deemed acceptable in modern healthcare. Among other technological aspects, telehealth has been majorly incorporated by healthcare facilities, and thus, my selected technological topic about nursing. Telehealth is the use of digital data and information to access healthcare services independently while managing the disease. Devices such as mobile phones and laptops are mostly used in this type of technology.
My particular interest in this topic pertains to the numerous uses of telehealth, and how it can be incorporated into daily healthcare activities to save lives, or even reduce medical costs. I mostly employed qualitative research processes to identify scholarly articles from the web. I used the PubMed site and peer-reviewed articles to find and evaluate the bibliographies. Some of my main search terms include; technology, nursing, telehealth, and Covid-19. This is particularly important after the global ongoing pandemic Covid-19, hit and patient-nurse interaction was extensively limited to severe cases only. This highlighted the need for more technological advancements and incorporations in the healthcare system, and nurses ought to effectively, efficiently, and properly care for the patients regardless of distance or barriers.
Zubiete, E. D., Luque, L. F., Rodríguez, A. V. M., & González, I. G. (2011, August). Review of wireless sensor networks in health applications. In 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (pp. 1789-1793). IEEE.
The authors in the book are; Luiz Fernandez, who is a renowned entrepreneur and professional health researcher in the Salumedia Labs company. Enrique Dorronzo is a research scientist at the Chiba University, where he also resides as a visiting researcher. Isabel Gonzales is also a health professor and works full-time at the University of Sevilla. Lastly, Ana Veronica studies the relation of wireless networks, middleware, and technical reviews. The book is mainly focused on the use of Wireless Sensors, and how their adoption will ease the flow of work. In the article, there is high sensitization of wireless sensors, and their prevalence in-home and clinical tracking of the patients.
Wireless sensors have various advantages to quality of patient care in such; there is major reduction of costs, especially medical costs that may have arisen due to physical contact with practitioners. It has also increased the rate of mobility in patients in terms of access to quality healthcare as showcased in their phones or tablets, and last but not least, with the reduced costs, consumer pains reduce significantly and access to healthcare is thus encouraged. Concerning smart living and future goals to patients, wireless sensors can effortlessly accumulate and record patient data and can also customize them for easier understanding to both the patient and the caregiver. This article presents a comprehensive commentary on the existing wireless sensors networks frameworks, and how they are applied in the health sector. An overview and categorization of the twenty-six research articles are presented. One major disadvantage is the lack of recorded literature review on the limitations of the testing of the wireless sensor networks, considering the major adoption investments by the healthcare sector.
Portnoy, J., Waller, M., & Elliott, T. (2020). Telemedicine in the era of COVID-19 [published online ahead of print March 24, 2020]. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract.
The authors are; Morgan Walleris, director of the Children Mercy in Kansas City. Jay Portnoy, Managing Director in Immunology, Telemedicine and Allergy at the University of Missouri, and Tana Elliot, Infection and Allergy doctor. Their work’s main focus is on the use of telemedicine in the transmission and prevalence of the Covid-19 infection. The authors also address the mechanics of how telemedicine may reduce transmission, and it states that this can be achieved by encouraging non-critical patients to access health services from home.
It further points out that the use of insurance policies such as Medicaid waived burden payments on telemedicine, encouraging its use during the pandemic. For the past year, medication has been higher for those at risk of Covid-19, with the inclusion of vaccines, and the waivers of the telemedicine by the insurance policies, more lives were saved as expenses were reduced greatly and therefore improved quality care. Some disadvantages were also noted, as patients craved the physical connection with their doctors and nurses, to feel less secure. Patients also did want healthcare practitioners with whom they built long-lasting relationships, rather than new people whom they do not trust. This publication was best suitable as it notes on the current ongoing pandemic, and how the cultivation of telemedicine can help reduce its prevalence rate.
Servaty, R., Kersten, A., Brukamp, K., Möhler, R., & Mueller, M. (2020). Implementation of robotic devices in nursing care. Barriers and facilitators: an integrative review. BMJ Open, 10(9), e038650.
The authors include; Annabel Kersten, a specialized nephrologist and research assistant at the University of Schwabisch Gmund in Germany. Servant who holds a Master of Science and research associate. Lastly, Mohler, an associate professor at the Heinrich Heine University. The research article recognizes the need for a nursing system that attracts attention, yet has its level of sophistication. It mainly focuses on the research experiments that were conducted in New Zealand, Europe, and the United States of America, and how robotics could shape the future in terms of telehealth. It established and recorded the difficulties of autonomation and robotics systems, such as delivery robots, on the impact of quality trials and results according to patient care and telemedicine.
The results provided in the article may be used to modify implementation plans that enable the quick deployment of randomized tests in nursing. The major impact of this article on patient care is the provision of the required basis of randomized and impactful trials that enlighten dialogues among practitioners and patients. This is so because the engagement between doctor and patient has to be truthful and accurate, and with the randomized trials and some training for the practitioner, dialogues would prove to be more accurate. This resource is impactful to readers as it employs quantitative analysis that showcases real-time data statistics. Readers may acknowledge the successes and failures of the randomized tests, and deeply understand the importance of implementation on dialogue.
Weernink, C. O., Felix, E., Verkuijlen, P. J. E. M., Dierick-van Daele, A. T. M., Kazak, J. K., & Van Hoof, J. (2018). Real-time location systems in nursing homes: state of the art and future applications. Journal of Enabling Technologies.
The article authors are Weernink, Dierick-van, Kazak, and van Hoof, who are all medical doctors with the highest academic qualification being a Ph.D. The article dives into the world of innovation and technology and explains how RTLS, as a telehealth device, may be adopted and implemented in systems and nursing homes to keep track of data and patients. It also provides the framework and outlines of the RTLS and its devices. RTLS improves quality patient care and treatment as it uses technology to identify the smallest error margins and threats, and enable nurses to act in time, especially with patients with mental illnesses.
The peer-reviewed article outlines the nursing homes, and how services such as asset control especially in dementia patients may act as risk indicators. Dementia patients often lose items, and with technology such as RTLS, items are easily tracked to indicate whether the patient’s condition is getting better or worse. This actively improves patient care as it proves to be proactive, and can save lives. This article is resourceful as it elaborates deeply on one of the most critical patient care systems, and develops a system where errors and potential threats may easily be identified to improve patient care.
Conclusion
The four peer-reviewed articles delve into the fast-developing world of telemedicine and its impacts on quality patient care. The most common technological advancement is the use of telemedicine, and in such, applications such as wireless sensor networks that track patients in any environment, RTLS that keep tracks of the inventory for patients especially in nursing homes, and robotic systems that spell put the implementation strategies of trial testing, are all important in the healthcare system, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic era. Some of the organizational factors and policies that may determine the implementation of telehealth include; training skills of the nurses available, strained time or lack of time for training procedures, constrictive workflows that do not allow extra-curricula activities. For instance, the nurses training level in the hospital would determine whether these devices will be used to improve patient care. Constrictive workflows due to limited help may also restrict the adoption of telehealth by nurses in an hospital.
Organizational policies may boost the adoption of technology in the healthcare settings by laying down laws that prove mandatory use of the technology available. Implementation of technology in healthcare settings have proved to be very beneficial as they have facilitated quality communication between patients and their caregivers, and in such, lessened the burden of medical errors induced by wrong communication. They have also reduced the chances of errors and fatalities as records are kept straight and non-distorted. With the presence of digital data, medical records are safe and limited number of people can modify the information, and thus reduction of medical errors that are fatal. Last but not least, it has provided better access to information, be it to the patient or the caregiver, and regardless of time. This works best in terms of emergencies or when the patient is unconscious and cannot provide information.
