Health Information Technology in Nursing

Patient care is the primary role for nurses, and with clinical research advances, nurses must quickly adjust patient care plans accordingly. Useful technology tools include hand-held data recording devices, laptop computers, cell phones and bed-side radiology machines. New technology improves accessibility to valuable health care information, and helps nurses improve the quality of patient care. It also provides a better method of communication between health care providers.

History

• Nurses historically relied on hand-written notes and verbal information to provide patient care and to retrieve vital information. Hand-held data collection devices, laptop computers and portable diagnostic tools make it easier to diagnose and treat patient symptoms, and immediate computer access to patient data improves patient care and health status. Nurses also increase productivity by using instant read thermometers, automatic blood pressure cuffs and other technology that replaces historical methods of assessing vital signs.

Significance

• Computers provide immediate access to patient data, medication history and treatment methodologies. They also make it easy to access online textbooks, updated drug references, infectious disease management tools and the Medline database, which contains scientific, medical and clinical resources. The immediate availability of computerized data also assists with patient monitoring, rapid diagnosis and care plan development.

Benefits

• Nurses have online computer access to accurate medication calculations and dosaging requirements. Laptop computers provide algorithms, which are rules for calculating drug dosages and administration frequency, which help reduce medication errors. Nurses also save time and prevent errors with the use of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC), which is an automatic medication administration technology. They use cell phones to call or text messages to doctors with timely updates on patient health status, changes in conditions and diagnostic testing results.

Potential

• Hand-held computers enable nurses to record detailed patient data quickly and efficiently, and increase the potential for medical researchers to discover new disease treatments and cures. Data is compiled electronically by researchers who study and identify new or enhanced treatments. They can evaluate thousands of patient responses to a particular drug or procedure, and determine the most effective disease treatments.