Healthcare Technology Paper

Healthcare Technology Paper

Healthcare Technology Essay Paper

A basic component of providing healthcare is ensuring patient safety, which is especially important in-home care. To better understand patient safety in settings for home care, this paper will examine its many facets. Understanding and minimizing potential risks and problems becomes crucial as demand for home-based healthcare rises. The paper explores the aspects of patient safety in home care, such as drug administration, infection control, fall prevention, and health technology. It aims to improve the safety and quality of care provided to patients in their homes by looking at the best evidence-based practices.

Patient Safety Goals for Homecare

To achieve “Improving the accuracy of patient identification,” nurses can actively contribute to building a respectful work environment. They can advance a society that rejects abuse and promotes open communication by strongly opposing bullying. They confirm their dedication to a friendly and secure workplace by participating in anti-bullying training and activities. Building positive connections with coworkers involves putting a strong emphasis on compassion and respect. Nurses can ensure swift action and resolution by reporting any bullying incidents. Nurses establish a respectful workplace that encourages professional and personal growth, teamwork, and higher standards of patient care by actively participating in these initiatives.

Nurses can take several critical actions to ensure the goal of “Using medications safely.” They should take great care to document and convey information regarding a patient’s drugs accurately. It is crucial to list every medication the patient takes and carefully contrast it with any new prescription drugs. The patient must receive written information about the medicines to grasp them. Additionally, nurses should stress the value of bringing a current list of medications to every patient’s appointment to promote safe and efficient medication management (Mieiro et al., 2019).

Nurses can adhere to accepted hand washing recommendations from reliable sources like the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fulfill the goal of “Preventing infection.” They should make clear objectives for enhancing hand hygiene procedures in their healthcare facility. These objectives may include encouraging frequent handwashing, using hand sanitizers in particular circumstances, and ensuring all employees follow the recommended hand hygiene practices (Boyce, 2021). Nurses can significantly reduce the risk of infection transmission by improving hand-cleaning techniques and effectively monitoring progress while utilizing the identified targets as benchmarks.

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To achieve the goal of “preventing patients from falling,” nurses must first determine which patients are most at risk. They must consider patients’ drugs that can make them feel weak, lightheaded, or sleepy. Nurses should be proactive in preventing falls once they have identified high-risk patients. This could entail helping the patient move or walk, installing bed alarms, maintaining a clutter-free environment, and teaching patients and their families fall prevention techniques. Nurses can significantly lower the incidence of patient falls by addressing these specific risk factors and implementing preventive measures.

To accomplish the goal of “identifying patient safety risks,” nurses should carefully examine patients receiving oxygen therapy for potential dangers. Analyzing the patient’s living space to see if using oxygen poses any fire dangers is essential. This evaluation includes locating potential ignition sources, such as smoldering items, open flames, or broken electrical equipment. In addition to stressing the significance of safe oxygen handling and storage, nurses should inform patients and their families about the risks associated with using oxygen close to combustible materials. Nurses can protect the safety of patients getting oxygen therapy and reduce the likelihood of fire-related events in their homes by detecting and resolving these safety issues.

Summary of Findings: Barriers and challenges of using health information technology in home care: A systematic review

The study found that traditional views of medical care, preconceived notions about internet-based home care, internet use barriers, high payment costs, uneven service quality, and worries about patient safety and privacy were the main obstacles to older patients accessing this care. Older patients ‘ low acceptance of the new internet-based home care is a result of their subjective perceptions that it lacks formality and is primarily for seriously ill patients, as well as the fact that older individuals are less likely to utilize the internet as a communication tool for health-related matters (Galavi et al., 2022).

The Transition To Home Care

My daily nursing practice would endure substantial adjustments as a nurse moving to home care. I would have to provide healthcare services to individuals in their homes. I would have to adjust to a more independent and adaptable method of patient care because of this change. Learning how to do home inspections, deal with various environmental concerns, and remotely coordinate care with other medical specialists is essential. Patient education and family support would be increasingly important to ensure effective treatment at home. Time management and prioritization abilities would also be crucial for effectively traveling between patients’ homes and providing thorough, individualized treatment in comfortable circumstances. Overall, working in home care would present new challenges and opportunities for me to interact with patients on a deeper level and make a unique and significant contribution to their well-being.

References

Boyce, J. M. (2021). Hand hygiene, an update. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, 35(3), 553–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2021.04.003

Galavi, Z., Montazeri, M., & Ahmadian, L. (2022). Barriers and challenges of using health information technology in home care: A systematic review. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 37(5), 2542–2568. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3492

Mieiro, D. B., Oliveira, É. B. C. de, Fonseca, R. E. P. da, Mininel, V. A., Zem-Mascarenhas, S. H., & Machado, R. C. (2019). Strategies to minimize medication errors in emergency units: an integrative review. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 72(suppl 1), 307–314. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2017-0658

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As technology in healthcare continues a shift to homecare is inevitable, safety is of utmost importance. Review the most current Patient Safety Goals for homecare found under the NPSG Program Links. Review the 5 NPGS listed for the Home Care option and discuss each one related to how the nurse can ensure they are met. Finally, locate an article that discusses technology and home care and summarize the findings. How will this shift to home care impact your day-to-day nursing practice?