NUR 514- Week 6 Assignment Emerging Technology Brief
New health care innovations offer the advanced registered nurse an opportunity to apply emerging technologies in practice to improve quality and patient outcomes.
One of the emerging technologies that the author believes will have a significant impact on barriers to healthcare is the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Accordingly, IoMT refers to medical infrastructure that consists of software, sensors, healthcare IT systems and medical devices that are utilized in medical monitoring, testing, as well as diagnostics. The use of this infrastructure can help the healthcare provider a well as the patient to monitor and inform them on the actual data on potential issues that could result in health problems. Through it, potential health problems are averted before they occur (Balas et al., 2019). An example is the use of skin sensors for blood glucose where diabetic patients are installed with sensors that monitor their blood glucose levels. The sensors notify the patient and healthcare provider incidences of low or high blood glucose levels and the need for an immediate action. In some cases, the sensors deliver insulin depending on the blood glucose levels. Through this mechanism, health problems such as diabetic coma and hypeglycemia and prevented prior to their occurrence in patients suffering from diabetes.
The other way in which the technology could function in healthcare is the management of health problem that affect
NUR 514- Week 6 Assignment E
NUR 514 Week 6 Assignment Emerging Technology Brief
merging Technology Brief
the elderly populations. The elderly are at a risk of problems such as cardiovascular, renal, and respiratory and memory loss problems. The technology proves significant to these populations. For instance, sensors can be used to monitor their blood pressure and immediate actions taken in case of any deviations from the normal range (Stegemann, 2016). Similarly, they can be used to monitor their adherence to medication and notifications sent to them in cases where they forget their medical regimen.
The use of IoMT technology in health is however associated with some legal and ethical issues. One of them is the issue of privacy. Scholars argue that the use of such emergent technologies might violate one’s right to privacy. The system information can be accessed by third parties, thereby, weakening their use in the modern world. The other issue is safety concern. The long-term effects of the monitors are yet to be established. There is the concern that too much monitoring might be unhealthy as it raises individual focus on slight health issues that might be of less concern to them (Keramidas, Voros & Hübner, 2017). Therefore, these issues need to be addressed for the emerging technologies to be relevant in the modern practice of healthcare.
IoMT will improve access to care and patient safety in several ways. Firstly, it ensures that the patient and healthcare provider interact constantly on healthcare issues affecting them. The healthcare provider will always be in contact with the patient in case of a notification of an impending health problem (Le et al., 2018). The access to care is also enhanced due to the efficiency in which decisions are made. The easy availability of the patient’s data ensures that healthcare providers can collaborate with ease in determining the healthcare needs of the patients. The monitoring of the patient’s physiological status also promotes safety since health problems are identified before they occur. Besides, incidences of poor adherence to treatment are identified earlier, which leads to minimal occurrences of complications associated with the conditions being managed (Vermesan & Bacquet, 2017). Therefore, it makes it apparent that emerging technologies such as IoMT will eliminate barriers that affect the quality, access, and safety of care given to those in need in the society.
References
Balas, V. E.
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