Technology Across the Care Continuum
Executive Summary
The technological advancements have seen the services provided by the clinic improve significantly. We have made a substantive investment in acquiring and implementing the basic technology that has enabled effective communication between the patients, the professionals, and stakeholders. The EHR system allows for both clinical and administrative accurate decisions to be made. Besides, technology enables the clinic to share the information of the patients between the clinic and the mother hospital to allow the seamless flow of diagnostic information (Friedman, Parrish, & Ross, 2013). The EHR has a client portal where the clients can access their information from the website. The social media networking sites allow the nurses to share educational and nutritional materials with the patients to ensure that they adhere to the treatment plans especially after they have been discharged.
However, we acknowledge that the use of technology is unlimited, and therefore, more can be done to harness the potential to further improve the patient experience. With the use of video teleconferencing, facilities will reduce the number of nurse visits with the patients under care (Friedman et al., 2013). I also believe that the use of telemetry devices to capture data of vital signs is mandatory.
Failure to use such technology is both detrimental to the organization and the clients. Without the use of technology, our clinic will lose its reputation of offering effective patient care, which is a tool we use to gain a competitive advantage against our rivals (Huber, 2013). The greatest satisfaction we get is when the clients recover and recommend us because of the quality of the service we offer.
Effective Use of Technology across the Care Continuum
The landscape in the health sector is undergoing a massive transformation in terms of the technological advancements, which are making access and quality of care to be improved significantly. This paper will look at the technology that is being utilized in an ambulatory clinic that is concerned with heart diseases. This clinic is adapting the use of various technologies to improve the quality of care for the patients while also helping the payers and providers to reduce the costs of healthcare and management of related risks (Hunt, Sproat, & Kitzmiller, 2013).
In the clinic, the use of social networking sites, Cloud-based Provider Relationship Management Software, and mobile technology are used in addition to the comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) has been embraced. We have devised an evidence-based practice to ensure the patients get the best care during hospitalization treatment and discharge. We put so much emphasis on education of the condition of the patients so that they are aware of how they should conduct themselves and adhere to the medication and healthy living tips offered to minimize the rates of readmission. All these processes are accomplished with the use of technology. Our practitioners used the EHR to quickly record and retrieve the information regarding the patient at the click of a button (Hunt et al., 2013). Besides, our website has a patient portal where they can log in and access vital health information.
We use social media platforms to contact our consumers and patients to share information in form of videos, pictures, and text to help remind the patient of the need to adhere to the treatment plans and remind them of their scheduled physical visits. Telehealth packages allow us to collaborate with other professionals to access and share information with the aim of improving the safety, cost reduction, and the quality of care (Middleton et al., 2013).
How to Manage Change and Technology to Improve Outcomes
Successful execution of change and technology is not an easy task. It requires that the nurse leaders acquire important skills to ensure that all staffs in the facility relate to the change. Besides, strong leadership, the involvement of the staff that will use the technology in the design and execution, mandatory staff training influence the success of change acceptance. The leadership must develop guidelines that ensure strict adherence to timelines and budget (Huber, 2013). When properly managed, information technology has proven to enhance fast and accurate communication, which results to streamline the process, improved flow of patients, faster responses to inquiries among other functions in healthcare systems. The management must ensure that the chosen technology has the greatest potential for integration with outpatient care and that the vendor was available to offer the required technical support during and after execution (Schmidt & Brown, 2014).
In order to meet the logistical challenges of training all staff, substantial investments are required and the nurse leadership must be able to forecast the financial needs required for the technology to be up and running. Training should be made mandatory to all staff with a requirement to pass a proficiency test before accessing the more sensitive technologies like the EHR. The most important challenge with the use of technology is how to optimize the use of technology like streamlining processes while maintaining quality (Schmidt & Brown, 2014). Day-to-day running and management of the technology is also a challenge that needs solutions. The leadership must find a solution to implement the technologies over time while allowing the staff to keep their familiar workflows to avoid being overwhelmed. Once the implementation plan has been created, it should be adhered to and regular checkups are done to ensure compliance with the safety of the patient records (Huber, 2013).
Effective Patient Care Using Nursing Informatics Theories and Models
Nurses play a critical role in the outcomes of a patient’s health care. An effective patient care is one that efficiently collects information about the patient while improving the accuracy of the said data. This data is then analyzed to arrive at a positive diagnosis, treatment, hospitalization and discharge. An effectively designed information system affords the care providers an easy flow of information that is vital for the efficient process of documentation (Middletonet al., 2013). Another critical aspect of effective patient care revolves around the safety of the patients and the providers. Informatics plays an important role in ensuring this safety is achieved. The evolution of electronic documentation has seen the provision of the plan of care for patients included. Besides, technology enables effective communication between the patients, clinicians and other professionals, which together improve the quality of care for the patients (Hunt et al., 2013).
Nurses are the largest users of technology just as they are the main partners in the provision of quality of care to the patients. With the available technology, the informatics nurses are able to transfer important information the patients to enable them to adhere to the treatment plans (Schmidt& Brown, 2014). The change theory is the most integrated model in the practice. The theory forwarded by Kurt Lewin presents a tactical approach that can help the nurses to execute and evaluate the forecast changes into the processes of a system. The theory advocates the use of inventive problem techniques while offering them the necessary support.
Conclusion
It is worth noting that the number of people living with chronic illnesses is continuously increasing and with the growing technology, there is more interconnectivity and a promise for healthy life. Telehealth packages offer health care providers the opportunity to collaborate with other professionals to access and share information to improve patient safety, reduce care cost, and advance the quality of care. When properly managed, information technology has proven to promote fast and accurate communication, which results to more efficient care process, improved flow of patients, faster responses to inquiries among other functions in healthcare systems. In addition, significant investments are essential and the nurse leadership must be able to project the financial needs required for the technology to be up and running.
Technology Across the Care Continuum
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