Tag Archive for: healthcare

Technological advances are creating seismic changes in virtually every industry, and healthcare is no exception. Providing effective patient care can present a number of significant challenges that have historically plagued the healthcare system at large.

These issues have incurred severe costs over time in the form of wasted resources, care failures, and even lives in many cases.

Applying technology to solving these problems can fundamentally change the quality and effectiveness of the healthcare system. One area of healthcare that is experiencing particular innovation is that of patient health and well-being. Thanks to technological trends and advances over the past five years, our capabilities in this area have skyrocketed.

In this article, we’ll explore the top areas where tech is revolutionizing patient care.

Why Maintaining Patient Health and Well-Being is Vital

It could be argued that maintaining patient health and well-being is the single fundamental purpose of the healthcare system at large. However, there are several practical and operational ways of understanding this concept that help distinguish patient health and well-being from other systems within healthcare. Maintaining effective protocols for ensuring patient health and well-being is important in a few ways.

Patient health and well-being directly contribute not only to patient outcomes (e.g. the ultimate effectiveness of the treatment or care they receive) but to the patient’s experience and perception of the care they receive. Ultimately, not only the individual patients but healthcare providers, friends and family, and other stakeholders all benefit from favorable patient experiences.

Mitigating lawsuits, decreasing workplace stress for medical professionals, and increasing long-term engagement with healthcare are just some of the advantages the healthcare system can experience when it prioritizes patient health and well-being during the care process.

Top Technological Solutions Raising the Bar for Patient Health and Well-Being

Technology can be used to increase the average level of patient health and well-being in several ways. Here are a few of the top strategies for approaching this goal (though this is not an exhaustive list):

Leveraging the Power of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and Patient Identification Tools

Having systems in place to better maintain and access patient records while providing care can create a number of benefits for both patients and medical professionals. Having a patient’s health history and profile information immediately available while providing care can help medical personnel avoid making costly mistakes or misdiagnoses.

A touchless patient identification platform like RightPatient helps prevent patient safety issues, misdiagnoses, and duplicate medical records. RightPatient utilizes biometrics to identify patient records accurately each time patients come in for visits (both physical and telehealth), preventing mix-ups, duplicate EHRs, and more.

It can also save time by mitigating redundant tests or procedures. This can improve patient outcomes and can also improve their experiences while receiving care.

Implementing Biotech Tools for Better Monitoring and Data Capture

The prevalence, quality, and availability of consumer-accessible biotech and medical monitoring tools have reached unprecedented levels. This makes self-monitoring and new approaches to instituting care possible that utilize more sustained, accurate, or multifaceted data.

Tools for tracking blood pressure, heart rate, stress levels, sleep quality, blood samples, and more can be used by patients at home and in their daily lives. The resulting insights can much improve diagnosis as well as the treatment plan development process.

Utilizing Highly Viable Telehealth Options

Telehealth capabilities have also experienced rapid improvements and scaling over the past 3-5 years. This was partly propelled by necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The quality of telehealth services has made telehealth care an accessible, understandable, and preferred option for many patients across the country.

While telehealth won’t completely replace in-person healthcare provision (at least for the foreseeable future), it provides a helpful option for many patients and healthcare entities that can make certain types of healthcare provision much more efficient and convenient for both patients and care professionals.

Telehealth will likely be implemented in increasing measures, both to complement and replace certain types of in-person care, as the healthcare system continues to evolve.

Increasing Medical Professionals’ Access to Databases and Resources

The internet and its organization of information into accessible, centralized places have changed the way medical professionals can access medical knowledge. This can change the process of healthcare provision as well as increase its quality.

Doctors can use a medical prescription database on their phones to check instantly for drug incompatibilities or allergy dangers when writing prescriptions. Nurses can pull up the latest research from a medical database to answer a patient’s questions on the spot. Medical journals can be instantly cross-referenced to provide helpful insights when diagnosing a difficult case.

The wealth and accessibility of medical information and data have fundamentally changed the game for the healthcare process.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics into Surgeries and Diagnoses

Emergent technologies are increasingly making a place for themselves in healthcare provision. Already, AI-capable software is being used to analyze large amounts of data for trends and insights. It can also be used to detect subtle nuances in test results and scans that are indiscernible to the human eye to help diagnose health conditions.

Robotic technology is being utilized in surgeries that require more precision or smaller movements than a human surgeon can perform. These technologies are rapidly expanding and iterating. Though many are still in the early stages of development and adoption, their use will continue to increase because of the clear benefits they present.

Tech Trends Continue for Patient Health and Well-Being

These technological trends and more will continue to develop and will be increasingly implemented to improve patient health and well-being in the coming years. Other technologies that are currently in embryonic or experimental stages will continue to emerge as well that will continue to shift the way tech is applied to healthcare.

It’s important to stay on top of technological solutions that are available now, as well as keep an eye on the technological horizons for significant developments that are sure to come.

Nursing is no longer limited to merely a supporting role in healthcare. Nurses can chart a career path in many specialties and at different seniority levels. As a result, more nurses are completing advanced nursing degrees, such as a master’s or doctor of nursing practice (DNP).

This increase in advanced practice nursing benefits the sector in many ways. Here’s how advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) impact patient care.

Nurse practitioners can act independently

As nurses progress up the education ladder, they gain more skills. Nurse practitioners (you reach NP status when you have a master’s or doctor’s degree) can act with more autonomy than registered nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree. 

The scope of responsibilities differs from state to state. In states where nurses have full practice authority, they can:

• conduct physical examinations
• order diagnostic tests
• make certain diagnoses
• put together treatment plans
• manage chronic conditions
• prescribe certain medication

In reduced practice states, nurse practitioners can order tests and diagnose but may require physician oversight to prescribe medication. In restricted practice states, nurse practitioners must perform all tasks under physician supervision or with physician collaboration. 

They can provide greater support in emergency care

Emergency and critical care facilities are often under strain during times when there is an influx of patients. Because nurse practitioners have advanced medical training, they would be able to treat patients at low to mid triage levels, allowing doctors to focus on more urgent and life-threatening cases. 

They can fill the gap in the shortage of healthcare workers

Globally, the healthcare sector is facing a skills shortage crisis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there will be a shortage of 18 million healthcare workers by 2030 and an additional 9 million nurses and midwives will be needed to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3. 

Additionally, the Association of American Medical Colleges expects a shortage ranging between 46,900 and 121,900 physicians come 2032.

These stats are alarming and to make matters worse, many healthcare workers quit the profession during the COVID-19 pandemic or are planning to leave soon. Thus, there will be an urgent need for healthcare workers with advanced skills in the future. 

Nurses who complete a master’s or doctor’s in nursing practice program today can step into this vacuum so that patient care isn’t compromised in the future. 

They can open their independent nursing practice

In full-practice states, nurses can operate their independent nursing practice without physician oversight. This offers patients an alternative to seeing a doctor for preventive healthcare, to treat minor health issues, and manage chronic conditions. It also alleviates the caseload for physicians who are stretched to capacity. 

Nurse practitioners must meet the following educational and licensure requirements:

• Have completed an advanced nursing degree program, such as a doctor of nursing practice program. 
• Passed a national certification exam with a recognized certification board, such as the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 
• Have a valid state license. 

To continue practicing, most states require that nurses renew their certification every five years and their license every 2 years. 

They can specialize

Nurses, just like doctors, have the option to specialize. Nurses who complete an accredited doctor of nursing online program can choose a concentration in pediatrics, adult-gerontology, midwifery, and mental health, to name a few. 

Nurses who specialize can act as a second set of eyes to the physician. Their focused training means they could spot changes in a patient’s physical or mental health or catch early symptoms that a doctor may have missed. 

They can influence policy

Nurse practitioners who wish to move into leadership roles in healthcare can complete a Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree or a Ph.D. 

A DNP is more clinically focused while a Ph.D. is more research-focused. Both will allow a nurse to rise to a more prominent role, one in which they can influence policy, advocate for improvements in patient care, and champion patient safety rights. 

They can shape future nurses

Nurse educators are in big demand and are likely to become more sought after to help train a new generation of nurses. Training isn’t limited to clinical practice but also to new technology, techniques, global healthcare trends, and the policy environment. 

The healthcare industry is changing and so are patients’ expectations. Nurses will need an understanding of concepts such as health tech, telemedicine, data analytics, artificial intelligence, integrative medicine, and personalized medicine. 

In conclusion

A career in nursing no longer needs to follow one linear path. With the right training, there are hundreds of nursing specialties to pursue. Advanced practice registered nurses are at the forefront of serving the patients who require specialized care. 

Healthcare is evolving.

Technology is changing the way we live and work, and that’s especially true in the medical field.

Remote patient monitoring devices and services make it easier than ever for patients to care for themselves while still getting the support they need from healthcare professionals.

Here are seven benefits of using remote patient monitoring devices and services.

What is Remote Patient Monitoring?

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is the process of remotely monitoring a patient’s health status and collecting health data from them. 

This can be achieved in various methods, such as using sensors to track vital signs or having patients report their symptoms.

Remote patient monitoring can be used to enhance patient care by providing clinicians with timely information about their patients’ health, which can help them make better treatment decisions.

It can also help patients stay healthy by allowing them to monitor their own health and receive feedback from clinicians.

How Does Remote Patient Monitoring Work?

There are various ways that remote patient monitoring can be used to collect data about a patient’s health.

One common method is using sensors to track vital signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation levels.

Other methods include having patients report their own symptoms, using remote video consultations, or collecting data from devices that patients are already using, such as activity trackers or smartwatches.

Clinicians can access the remote patient monitoring data in various ways, including through secure websites, mobile apps, or dedicated remote patient monitoring devices.

Seven Ways Remote Patient Monitoring Solutions Give You the Upper Hand

Now that we know what remote patient monitoring is and how it works, let’s look at seven benefits of using remote patient monitoring devices and services.

Increased Patient Safety

One of the most essential benefits of remote patient monitoring is that it can help improve patient safety.

Remote patient monitoring devices and services allow clinicians to more quickly identify and address patient issues, which can help prevent serious health complications.

For example, if a patient’s vital signs suddenly start to fluctuate, remote patient monitoring can help alert clinicians so they can take action before the situation becomes worse.

Improved Clinician Efficiency

Another great benefit of remote patient monitoring is that it can help improve clinician efficiency.

Remote patient monitoring services and devices allow clinicians to see all of a patient’s health data in one place, making it easier to detect issues and make treatment decisions.

This can help clinicians save time by not having to track down information from multiple sources.

It can also help them provide better care for their patients by allowing them to focus on the individual instead of trying to manage a large number of patients at once.

Faster Treatment Decisions

Remote patient monitoring can help healthcare providers make treatment decisions more quickly.

This is because it allows them to get a real-time view of the patient’s health data, which can help them identify problems early on.

It also enables healthcare providers to develop a more detailed understanding of the patient’s condition, which can help them choose the most effective course of treatment.

Better Patient Engagement

When it comes to taking care of their health, many patients find it difficult to stay motivated. This is where remote patient monitoring devices and services can help.

Remote patient monitoring devices and services allow patients to track their own health data and see how they’re doing over time.

This can help patients stay engaged in their care and motivated to make healthy decisions and more easily communicate with clinicians about any issues they’re having.

Reduced Costs

Nowadays, healthcare is expensive, and not everyone can afford to see a doctor every time they need one.

Remote patient monitoring devices and services can help reduce costs by allowing patients to care for themselves.

This can save patients money by not having to go to the doctor as often, and it can also help healthcare providers save money by reducing the need for in-person visits.

Improved Care Coordination

Care coordination ensures that all the different parts of a patient’s care work together seamlessly.

This is especially important for patients with chronic conditions, who often see multiple specialists and require medication from different pharmacies.

Remote patient monitoring can help improve care coordination by giving healthcare providers real-time access to the patient’s health data.

This allows them to identify potential problems early and intervene before the patient’s condition deteriorates.

Improved Quality of Life

Remote patient monitoring can also improve the quality of life for patients with chronic conditions.

It allows them to stay connected to their healthcare providers, receive regular updates on their health status, and get access to educational materials and support groups that can help them cope with their illness.

In addition, remote patient monitoring can provide patients with more independence by allowing them to manage their own care.

Improve Your Health by Using Remote Patient Monitoring Devices and Services

Remote patient monitoring companies are changing the lives of patients and healthcare providers around the world.

By using remote patient monitoring devices and services, patients can get the care they need while staying comfortable in their own homes.

Nurses play a critical role in patient care and outcomes. While physicians make diagnoses and provide treatment, nurses are responsible for a wide range of essential tasks, including monitoring patients’ conditions, dispensing medication, and assisting with personal care tasks. Nursing leaders have the additional responsibility of overseeing other nurses to help ensure quality patient care. 

Although nursing leaders may have less direct contact with patients on a daily basis, their role is incredibly important for creating high levels of safety and satisfaction among patients. Many of a nursing leader’s duties affect the way the nursing staff as a whole provides care. Here’s how a nursing leader can affect these important factors. 

Staffing Decisions 

Nursing leaders are typically in charge of hiring and firing new nursing staff. Making staffing decisions is a difficult balancing act for nurse leaders. They have a budget they must stick to, but they also have to hire enough staff to meet the needs of the organization. 

Making good hiring decisions can also be challenging when it comes to finding the right people for the job. There may be many applicants, but if only a handful are qualified or experienced enough, there might be a shortfall. Inexperienced nurses will need to be paired with more experienced professionals while they gain knowledge and confidence on the job, while others may simply lack the dedication and skills needed to be successful. 

However, staffing shortfalls can lead to issues with patient safety and affect the patient’s overall experience. An experienced nursing leader must balance all of these factors when making hiring and firing decisions to ensure a high level of care. 

Training Protocols 

Adequate staffing alone isn’t enough to ensure that patients are well-cared for. A nursing leader should emphasize ongoing training for their nursing staff so that they continue to build new skills and reinforce their current training. 

Professional development is important as the field of medicine evolves. Nursing leaders who look ahead to the future can improve patient care and safety by ensuring that nurses receive ongoing training. 

In addition to creating a more skilled workforce, ongoing training and development can help nurses feel more invested and engaged in their work. This is essential for preventing burnout and offers a win-win for both nurses and patients. 

Clear Standards of Care 

An effective nursing leader must insist that their staff maintain high standards for safety and patient care. While every RN should know and follow the basic ethical and care standards of the profession, every organization sets its own tone and standards as well. 

In order to maintain these standards, a nursing leader must highlight and emphasize them, enforcing compliance when needed. By making standards of care clear and concise, with no gray areas for interpretation, the nursing staff will all be expected to follow and maintain the same protocols, resulting in more consistent patient care.  

Emphasizing Communication & Preventing Errors

Nurses spend a lot of time communicating with patients and their families. Many errors that occur are the result of poor communication, even when there is no language barrier affecting understanding. 

A nurse leader should emphasize the importance of clear communication, even in difficult situations. Preventing errors is a top priority within the field of nursing, as they can be a matter of life and death. In fact, around 2.6 million people die every year due to safety issues in hospitals. 

Since some errors can be prevented simply by asking questions and having conversations, nursing leaders must be mindful of how proper communication affects patient outcomes. Just a few clarifying questions can sometimes make a critical difference. 

Morale Impact 

There are a lot of people in leadership positions across industries who shouldn’t be holding these roles. Unfortunately, poor leadership is not only common, but it also has a massive impact on employee morale. 

Leaders can fail their teams in a variety of ways, but it’s not all bad news. Effective nursing leaders can inspire their teams and boost morale by providing a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment. 

People do their best work when they’re happy. A good nursing leader knows how to maintain harmony within a team, push people when appropriate, and give them support when necessary. In this kind of environment, everyone knows where they stand and can honor their responsibilities with confidence. 

Cultural Competence

Nursing isn’t just about healing physical illness and wounds. The profession involves connecting with patients and giving them a safe space to recover. As diversity grows in the United States, however, many patients find that they do not get the sensitivity and communication they need to feel safe in the hospital. 

Cultural competence is critical in nursing to ensure that patients are given dignity and respect. Trust is an important component in helping patients to recover and preventing errors, so every nursing leader should help to facilitate this trust by teaching their nursing staff how to provide culturally competent care. 

Nursing Leaders Set the Example 

A nurse leader doesn’t have to be doing all of the day-to-day work to make a positive impact on patient care and safety. Instead, nursing leaders set the standards and example for the entire nursing staff. A nursing leader who takes steps to ensure that all nurses are providing top-notch care will see a strong, positive impact on their department’s safety record, patient satisfaction, and overall happiness among both patients and nurses.