The engagement of nurses in health care technology can help improve patient care. Healthcare technology facilitates ease of communication among nurses and interdisciplinary team members (Leonardsen et al., 2020). In addition, this provides an opportunity for consultations and clarifications hence informed clinical decisions (Konttila et al., 2019), which helps to minimize incidences of medication errors and reduce treatment costs that emerge from prolonged hospitalization due to medication errors. Health care technology improves care coordination. Specific procedures and protocols must be followed in the treatment process (Konttila et al., 2019). An example is an interdisciplinary collaboration created by the electronic health record system where each team member plays a unique role (Konttila et al., 2019). This coordinated care ensures that the best clinical decisions are made hence better patient outcomes. Healthcare technology also improves patient education. For instance, telehealth tools such as text messages, audio, or videos are applied to remind patients to take their medication or address their concerns regarding medication use (Leonardsen et al., 2020). This minimizes the likelihood of medication error, hence better patient outcomes.
Moreover, healthcare technology can increase the security, privacy, and confidentiality of protected health information. This is per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Meaningful Use Guidelines (Moore & Frye, 2019). Nurses and other interdisciplinary team members can utilize various tools of information technology to protect or secure protected health information. The first strategy is data encryption. Data encryption involves using a specific algorithm to translate information and make it unreadable (Kok et al., 2019). A unique decryption code is used to access this information (Kok et al., 2019).
The second technique is password protection. The passwords are unique to each authorized user and are changed periodically (Kok et al., 2019). Furthermore, passwords should utilize numbers, characters, and letters (Kok et al., 2019). The other strategy is identity and access management, which entails regulating and allowing only authorized users to access health information technology (Kok et al., 2019). They should have unique user accounts, and termination of the account should be done when the user is transferred to another facility (Kok et al., 2019). Additionally, cloud data backup is essential to prevent data loss when user accounts are hacked and wiped by computer viruses (Kok et al., 2019).
Healthcare technology optimizes workflow. Technology such as the electronic health record system eliminates manual paperwork, avoids data duplication, enhances interprofessional collaboration, and increases the security and privacy of protected patient information (Totten et al., 2019). All these improve nursing activities by ensuring smooth patient admission and reducing medication errors. Furthermore, technology promotes evidence-based practice because members of the interdisciplinary team are involved in the decision-making process (Totten et al., 2019).
Healthcare technology minimizes treatment costs and increases return on investment. This is achieved because the workflow and the quality of service delivery are enhanced (Totten et al., 2019). Enhanced workflow processes such as accurate billing and updated patient records minimize human errors (Totten et al., 2019). Consequently, this helps to avert monetary losses. Furthermore, updated patient records ensure accurate records are available to facilitate reimbursements from insurers. Healthcare technology can promote targeted digital advertisements hence accessing many patients (Totten et al., 2019), increasing the return on investment. Additionally, scheduling apps can classify human resources and help to avert extra costs incurred in these activities (Totten et al., 2019).
The addition of a nurse informaticist role has various opportunities. Nurses and other interdisciplinary team members will be able to use accurate findings from processed medical data to guide their practice (Peltonen et al., 2019). Nurses and other multidisciplinary team members will be able to solve endemic organizational issues resulting from the inadequate utility of patient data. The addition of a nurse informaticist role will provide an opportunity for perpetual learning and training (Zareshahi et al., 2022). Nonetheless, nurses and other interprofessional team members may face challenges in the accuracy of
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