Application of Technology in Nursing and Patient Education
Technology development has facilitated the improvement of healthcare delivery in most countries. Governments and health ministries tend to adapt the new advancement in the healthcare technology. Similarly, the use of different types of technology in the healthcare has helpful results including the delivery of equitable healthcare and reducing the likelihood of errors in the healthcare service delivery (Nazi, 2013). For instance, the Clinical Information System (CIS) is a proper example of the current technology in the healthcare system. The CIS was introduced to replace the manual recording of health record keeping. The CIS is a computer-based application that assists the health practitioners in obtaining, keeping, and analyzing the information sources regarding the history of medical information of their patients (Ball, Weaver & Kiel, 2013). Similarly, the CIS technology application has contributed to the cooperation of patients and health practitioners with the aim of improving the healthcare delivery (Ganslandt et al., 2015). Patient education is also enhanced with the use of the CIS technology application. Regardless of the advantages observed in the use of CIS, the application faces several challenges that could be avoided. For example, Haux et al. (2013) claim that the application requires a significant amount of funds for the installation, control, and maintenance. Additionally, the technology application is perceived as a waste of time when the health practitioners are required to maintain the specific records while operating the technology system. Therefore, the present paper discusses the use of the CIS technology program aimed at improving the health care system.
The Use of CIS
The Clinical Information System has contributed to the development and advancement of the healthcare service delivery in various ways. For instance, the application of technology development in the healthcare system through CIS would see the health facility utilizing the software in decision-making procedures (Ganslandt et al., 2015). The information stored in the system may be used to define the possible obstacles present in the healthcare system. Similarly, decision-making could be based on the data obtained from the different patient as a way of analyzing the situation if it occurs to another patient v. Furthermore, the system is used to acquire information from the different patient later manipulated to suit the needs of the health practitioners (Ball, Weaver & Kiel, 2013). For instance, a patient may provide the relevant information regarding his or her sickness and the physicians would utilize the information in proposing the possible medication.
Additionally, the CIS would be helpful in the research and training purposes. Research could be based on the available data stored in the system to forecast and discuss any effect of a certain disease. For example, malaria patients could be detected to increase at a certain period. The research of the data would be used to determine which period of the year has the highest number of malaria infection at a specific region (Blum, 2013). The CIS application could be useful in speeding up of the healthcare operations. Accessing the required patient data would be used to provide the care to the patients as the doctors and nurses would have quick access to the required information. For instance, the use of Electronic Medical Records would optimize the workload of accessing and analyzing the important patient information (Blum, 2013).
Significance of CIS
The use of the Clinical Information System in the healthcare delivery has contributed to the development and improvement of the health department. For instance, the delivery of healthcare services has become timely based where health practitioners respond to the available patients on time (Blum, 2013). Similarly, the use of CIS has reduced the risks associated with the information regarding the patients. Patients with health conditions similar to that from the stored records receive the instant care as the health practitioners have analyzed the possible treatment as per the previous patients. CIS has as well increased the communication platform where patients could be advice through an online platform (Blum, 2013). The use of CIS in communicating to the patients is based on the need for informing the patients on the possible directions regarding their health conditions. Doctors utilize the information stored in the CIS to assist patients who could be far in proposing any important information concerning their health.
Additionally, the use of CIS in a health facility has increased the efficiency level. The management could utilize the available resources in communicating with the employees as well as access the relevant information regarding the patients (Ganslandt et al., 2015). The system has provided a unification platform where managers and the employees cooperate strictly with the aim of improving the healthcare service delivery. According to Xiuqin (2013), the CIS utilization has increased the reliability of the information obtained from the patients. For instance, a patient could provide the information on his/her health conditions and the nurses would use the online platform to search for any other possible health history of the same patient. The previous health records of the same patient would assist the nurse of a doctor in acquiring the information concerning their diseases.
Advantages of CIS
The presence of the Clinical Information System in the healthcare technology development has recorded the benefits associated with the provision of healthcare services. The use of CIS such as the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) has helped to increase the accuracy of the patients’ information (Blum, 2013). For instance, the information recorded and stored in the system could never be lost of changed. Similarly, the other users of the data would not be mistaken since the electronic data has no errors compared to the manual recording which has many mistakes due to the handwritings of some doctors (Ball, Weaver & Kiel, 2013).
Moreover, the information in the CIS platform is accessible without any problems. Health practitioners have a way of accessing patients’ information since the CIS has a criterion of searching the required information. The use of CIS in a healthcare facility would reduce the storage space needed for manual or paper records (Ganslandt et al., 2015). For instance, the management would do away with the store management since the system only requires software and online storage system. Furthermore, the information regarding the hospital and the patients’ records can be easily transferred from one health practitioner to another. Doctors using the information would communicate and share the needed data through online media such as emails (Xiuqin, 2013). The health facility could reduce the costs of storage management as well as the workforce needed to record manual information. The CIS only needs simple typing in the computer system, and the information would not require much time. Furthermore, the growing efficiency and reduction of slow medical services would assist the hospital in increasing its productivity hence, increasing the profit maximization (Saleem et al., 2015).
Disadvantages of CIS
The use of CIS technology development in the healthcare system has observed several challenges disadvantageous towards the health practitioners as well as the health facilities. The costs of acquiring the CIS in a specific health facility would be much higher than expected (Haux et al., 2013). Computer programs and software are said to be expensive to install, maintain, and repair thus, becoming a challenge mostly towards small health care facilities. In addition, the use of CIS and other programs such as EMR has led to the increase of security bleaching when hackers and other users with socially unacceptable motives could illegally access the patients’ information with the aim of manipulating the patients or hospitals (Ganslandt et al., 2015). For example, a hacker would access the health data and post them online imposing a threat to the affected patients.
The maintenance of the CIS programs should be accomplished by the need for computer literacy. The rate of computer literacy is yet to reach 90% in the whole world hence, meaning that some health practitioners would be limited to use the CIS system (Blum, 2013). The use of CIS and the computer software could be halted by the breakdown of the computer hardware. For example, computers are known to hang when they are managed improperly or overloaded with loads of data. Therefore, their use would be limited when such obstacles face a health facility. The use of computer systems in a hospital means that the nurses would be required to work for more hours in the stages of feeding or perusing the CIS system in search of patients’ records (Saleem et al., 2015). The act could lead to overloading the employees who would demand a pay rise or refuse to use the systems in the health care delivery.
Professional Standards Seen in CIS
The standards governing the use and application of technology in health care are discussed by the Healthcare Information Technology Standards (HITS) that articulate the importance, usage, and requirements of every health facility (Blum, 2013). However, the platform aims at ensuring the improvement of healthcare technology and the control over the healthcare facilities’ adherence to the documented standards. For instance, the International Standard 01 Electronic Health Record (EHR) Laboratory Results Reporting articulates the specific recommendations that a specific healthcare facility should comply to (Blum, 2013). Similarly, the standard aims at increasing the awareness of the use of CIS and other electronic systems profitable to the healthcare services.
Conclusion
The advancement and development of information technology in the healthcare system have led to the improvement of healthcare service delivery as the applications introduced assist the health practitioners in redefining their strategic operations. Similarly, the use of Clinical Information System in healthcare delivery is welcomed due to the reduction of errors and improvement of data storage facilities that has increased the efficiency and reliability of the healthcare records. However, the installation, use, and maintenance of the system have become a challenge to numerous healthcare facilities experienced the need for improvement thus, increasing the costs of maintaining and the need for further adjustments. The use of CIS has enabled the healthcare industry to increase its efficiency and improve the quality of services rendered to the patients as well as contribute to the patients’ awareness.
References
Ball, M., Weaver, C., & Kiel, J. (Eds.). (2013). Healthcare information management systems: Cases, strategies, and solutions. London: Springer Science & Business Media.
Blum, B. I. (2013). Clinical information systems. London: Springer-Verlag.
Ganslandt, T., Hackl, W. O., & Section Editors for the IMIA Yearbook Section on Clinical Information Systems. (2015). Findings from the clinical information systems perspective. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 10(1), 90–94. http://doi.org/10.15265/IY-2015-037
Nazi, K. M. (2013). The personal health record paradox: Health care professionals’ perspectives and the information ecology of personal health record systems in organizational and clinical settings. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(4), e70. http://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2443
Saleem, J. J., Plew, W. R., Speir, R. C., Herout, J., Wilck, N. R., Ryan, D. M., … Phillips, T. (2015). Understanding barriers and facilitators to the use of Clinical Information Systems for intensive care units and Anesthesia Record Keeping: A rapid ethnography. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 84(7), 500-511.
Xiuqin, Z. (2013). The investigation on the application of information technology in nursing performance appraisal at a hospital in Wuhan. Medicine and Society, 8, 010. Retrieved from http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-YXSH201308010.htm
