Internet and E-mail: Many patients now access their primary care provider’s office on-line, and countless practices allow patients to contact the office staff via Email. (Abrahamsen, 2003) In addition, some offices offer Web sites. When surveyed, most patients requested recommendations for reliable Web sites about prevention and various conditions, direct E-mail contact with providers, and information about the providers, themselves.
Nurses employed in these settings should develop skills to maximize this new communication method, which enables them to track patients on new medications and clarify instructions in a real-time mode rather than waiting until the next appointment, further reducing the potential for medication error. Point-of-care documentation: Hand-held units that send patient information directly to the EMR provide faster, more accurate documentation.
Handwritten, narrative notes often lack important patient data and don’t consistently document problems, nursing interventions, patient education, or care plan. Incomplete documentation compromises data validity and reliability. In turn, computerized nursing documentation improves documentation comprehensiveness. Barcoded medications, patient name bands, medical equipment, and I. V. s eliminate the need for nurses to handwrite treatment modalities.
(Abrahamsen, 2003) Staff education, competence, and resistance to change remain critical elements for health care organizations to address when implementing this technology. Wireless technology: Wireless phone systems enable nurses to respond to telephone calls from anywhere in the unit through a wireless local area network. This means that nurses can be reached instantly and stay in touch throughout their shift, eliminating time-consuming delays which are inherent in the paging system and increasing satisfaction of patients and families. Academic environments also thrive on new technology.
(Abrahamsen, 2003) In some innovative home health training programs, nursing students have the ability to contact their instructors on campus via E-mail, fax, or voicemail; send reports to providers; and download health care and drug information from the Internet–all by means of a hand-held device and special software applications specifically designed for nursing. Students traveling to clinics and patient homes require new education and supervision to support them in the field. This technology allows students to remain in constant communication with their instructors.
An instructor on the phone with one student can still respond to another’s query by fax or E-mail. Generally, ready access to information on the Internet proves invaluable to practitioners in the field, eliminating the need for toting around cumbersome paper reference materials. Many facilities are purchasing hand-held devices that allow nursing staff to take advantage of free downloads of updated clinical drug databases, thus saving money previously spent on hard copy reference books that required repurchase yearly to be current.
Privacy, confidentiality, and security: Managers and staff must assess all existing and new telecommunications technology used for health care delivery. Facilities must comply with federal laws governing patient privacy, confidentiality, and security of health information. To ensure that this happens, establish safeguards and monitoring mechanisms. Review existing confidentiality and privacy protections to ensure that they’re sufficient for whatever new technology you’re considering. (Abrahamsen, 2003)