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Respond by offering additional/alternative ideas regarding opportunities and risks related to the observations shared. APA format. 150 words. 2 intext citation. 2 reference for each post response
Post 1
One of the biggest trends in healthcare is the use of the Electronic Health Record or EHR. The EHR is described as “a digital version of a patient’s paper chart” (HealthIT.gov, 2018). The EHR makes patient data available instantly and can be accessed securely by authorized users. The majority of the challenges associated with implementing EHRs is the learning and education curve that must be overcome by new healthcare providers. A basic understanding of the EHR system has become a basic competency of healthcare providers (McGonigle & Mastrain, 2021); however, without extended use and training within the system, it is very difficult to become proficient. Another risk to EHRs is that healthcare systems did not initially want to implement them and then only implemented them to the basic level after being threatened with fees from the government for not adding an EHR to their practice. However, with this threat of fees, it managed to get a vast majority of healthcare systems to implement an EHR and get the process started.
Security has always been a concern and a risk for implementing electronic health records because the patient information is now being held somewhere else in the tech cloud as opposed to sitting in a physical paper chart. This can allow possible intrusions from outside sources and hackers, but this also allows for third-party monitoring to help maintain patient confidentiality (Zhu, Saravana & Muthu, 2020). With third-party monitoring, this allows for hospitals to take maintaining security of their medical records off the administration and can allow IT security experts to maintain a firewall for their patients.
Implementing an EHR streamlines the documentation process for all healthcare providers involved in a patient’s care. This can eliminate confusion in documentation from handwriting and avoid providers needing to search through a chart for pertinent patient information. This streamlines the process as well as standardizes it to reduce confusion and promote consistency. This only applies however when healthcare providers are properly using the system to the full extent. If documentation is missing or notes are left out then the system cannot generate the information that needs to be accessible and patient care can suffer because of this.
I believe with the appropriate implementation, training, and time spent with these electronic health records they can greatly improve patient outcomes. Additionally with the newer implementation of AI-generated systems within EHRs that even greater data can be extracted from the system to help identify trends and potential problems developing for a patient to promote earlier responses and improved patient care. There are a lot of potential benefits for EHRs but these benefits only exist if the users have a proper understanding and grasp of the system and its nuances to properly input data and improve patient outcomes.
Post 2
One of the healthcare technology trends that I believe is impacting nursing practice is Telehealth. Telehealth allows practitioners and healthcare providers to deliver care remotely, using video conferencing, remote monitoring and other Telehealth technologies that are involved. This has the potential to improve patient care outcomes by increasing the access to care, reducing health care costs and improving patient satisfaction. For an example, at our healthcare facility we use Telehealth for the infectious disease consults and follow-up care for those that are in needed of this healthcare product. This is beneficial to the patient and to the physician because they are able to see the patient remotely, which saves the patient a drive to a facility that is not in the area and overall will improve patient satisfaction and outcomes in general. At our facility we also use teleneuro for those patients that are coming in with stroke symptoms and they do a video conference and see the patient in the room and the neurologists then consults the physician that is in the ER and they come up with a treatment plan together and then they follow up with them throughout the stay and make sure that they are receiving the care that they need.
All tele healthcare has potential challenges and risks that are associated with this care, things like medical reimbursement, compliance issues and as always there can be technical difficulties that can all affect the quality of care that is being provided. Some patients may feel hesitant about using telehealth because of the privacy and security of the system that is being used. There are potential risks and challenges associated with Telehealth and EHR, they have the potential to improve patient outcomes, be efficient and good data management. But we as healthcare providers need to stay well informed about emerging technology and be responsible ethically when using these services.