Compare and contrast monitoring of patient vital signs using mobile computing technology to in-patient visits to the doctor’s office or hospital. ?As most of the patients carry mobile devices, they understand the ability to monitor vital signs using mobile computing in real-time and saves time instead of visiting a doctor’s office or hospital. Patients can understand vital signs, and they can visit the doctor at a person’s discretion or otherwise can take over the counter medication.
?Although doctor’s office or hospitals provide patients with instructions, they are not able to provide patients with accurate information about the disease but using mobile computing technology, patients can get detailed information about the precautions and thorough instructions that required to cure their disease. ?To answer the patient’s questions, although doctors have a tremendous amount of knowledge, they also use mobile devices as a reference instead of books. ?Using the mobile technology, patients can see the lab results instead of waiting at the doctor’s office or hospital for the results.
Based on the results, patients can determine the severity and take the necessary action. ?Using new technologies such as e-prescribing, doctors can prescribe medication for their patients instead of writing out a prescription, which has a higher chance for errors and time consuming. With this new technology, patients can pick up their medication from pharmacy instead of dropping off their written prescription. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using mobile computing technology to monitor patients. ?Advantages of mobile computing technology to monitor patients ?
Major advantage of mobile computing is that anyone can take it with them virtually anywhere. ?Mobile computing devices allows to access and present data in a user-friendly manner, resulting in better care for patients. ?Using mobile technology, physicians can provide mobile application to keep in contact with their patients, provide encouragement and go through the assistance on overall health. ?As the patient’s data saved on the server, the physicians and nurses can view the data from mobile devices, which helps to increase their efficiency.
?Using the mobile computing technology, doctors can view a patient’s lab results real-time and analyze the patient’s condition instead of using the traditional method of receiving the lab results. ?Physicians can view the patient’s medical history and records from anywhere in the world, which allows to take care of the patients more proficiently. ?Using mobile computing devices in the hospital reduces the space in the hospitals, can accommodate more patients and helps to reduce the cost on the extra space. ?Mobile computing devices creates less clutter and lower costs while delivering more services more efficiently.
?Mobile computing technology minimizes paperwork and reduces errors. All the data regarding the patient’s medical and billing records stored in the database servers. ?Mobile devices consume less energy than the desktops, workstations that help to save on the electricity bills. ?Mobile devices have more functionality and connectivity than traditional phones. ?Using the mobile application, improved emergency admission process. ?Mobile scanner helps the pharmacist to scan prescription drug container to identify the drug, the number of pills or units remaining in the bottle.
?Disadvantages of mobile computing technology to monitor patients ? Security concerns still exist on the input data entered on the mobile applications as all the security industry standards would not implement yet. ?When introducing the mobile computing technology, the initial cost is extremely high. ?To implement mobile computing, requires extensive training for the personnel within the hospital and staff members, increase the overhead cost on the hospital. ?Mobile computing is dependent on information system and data communication technology. ?Mobile devices are high risk for theft, loss or misplacement.
?Identifying the correct mobile devices for the hospital according to all compliance requirements is critical and time consuming. ?As the mobile technology reduces the paper work, employees can lose their jobs. ?Cost in integration with the existing system is a significant concern in implementing mobile technology at the physician’s office or hospitals. ?Mobile devices have small screens, short battery life, limited processing power and rudimentary integration capabilities. ?Mobile computing cannot duplicate the functionality of the traditional systems.
? The signals from mobile devices may obstruct with the equipment that uses radio frequency technology could cause malfunction of devices and potentially harm patients. The following are the security concerns with regard to the transmission of personal medical information over wireless networks: ? Wireless networks allow communication between the devices. As the doctors, nurses, ambulance workers are using mobiles devices that have different security concerns, used to update and transfer the data. The patient’s information can be at risk while transferring or updating the data.
?Security and Patient privacy are a vital concern to understand the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines in transmitting personal medical information over the wireless network. ?The data should follow encryption process when transferring over the wireless network otherwise the data will be at risk. ?Malware and Virus threat are increasing tremendously in the wireless network. Hospital cannot monitor the true intent of the every user using the data on the mobile devices. Wireless user can plant the virus while updating the documents on the mobile devices.
?Ongoing maintenance cost to provide the adequate security is high. When the required software is not up-to-date, the data is at risk while transmitting over the over wireless networks. ?As the data flows on the wireless network, hospital networks should have measures and policies to provide access to the non-hospital mobile devices. Hospital should have data security process in place for the hospital-owned mobile devices to maintain the privacy and security guidelines. ?The information is at risk as the data will be moving rapidly from system to the system and back again.
? Assess the use of social networking for group support for patients with similar medical concerns. ?Most of the young patients use social media network such as Facebook and Twitter as a health resource to seek medical information, discuss symptoms, ask questions and express the opinion about hospitals, physicals, drugs and insurance companies from the other patients. ?Because of the technology awareness, social networking users believe that they can trust their own peers who experience similar symptoms rather than their physicians.
?As the conversation in social networking groups is casual, patients can ask or answer the questions openly using language where everyone can understand instead using medical terminology. ?For the critical diseases such as cancer, using the social network patients can get assistance and guidelines about handling the upcoming medical treatments from the other patients with similar medical conditions. ?Using the social network, patients can share the medicine they take and side effects form other patients with the similar medical conditions.
?Social network discussions increase self-confidence that helps the patients to reduce the time to cure by reading the success stories from patients with the related medical illnesses. ?Social media users help to discuss the information provided by organizations such as American Cancer Society or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with other patients. References Medical Student Learning: Mobile Technology Advantages. (n. d. ). Medical Student Learning. Retrieved from http://blog. medstudentlearning. com/2011/12/mobile-technology-advantages.
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