HealthCare Technologies

Inthe nursing practice, there is the need to use technologies in theimprovement of patient outcomes (Vinson et al., 2011). The use oftechnology is thus seen as an important aspect in the provision ofquality care. One of the technological tools that are currently inuse in the nursing practice is electronic documentation. The adoptionof Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a crucial tool in theenhancement of patient outcomes.

Theuse of EHR in the nursing practice has helped in improving thequality of care since it has made it possible to eliminate errorssuch as the provision of the wrong prescription due to eligibilityproblems. Such an aspect has improved patient outcomes resulting inenhanced quality care. Besides, the use of electronic health registerhas enabled health practitioners to share information concerning apatient efficiently, which has facilitated the provision of timelytreatment of patients (Lavin et al., 2015). For instance, electronicdocumentations have supported the idea of nurses accessing patient’shealth data anywhere a move that has made practitioners to offer anappropriate treatment without making errors (Simpson, 2012).

Anincreased utilization of electronic health records is likely to havethe impact of reducing medical errors, which would be critical inimproving efficiency in the provision of care, as well as theenhancement of patient safety (McGonigle &amp Mastrian, 2015).

Theadoption of the electronic health records has been facing barriersbecause of the cost issue, as well as operational difficulties. Inits implementation, the electronic health records come at a cost,which needs facilities to consider. Furthermore, the processes thatcome with the technology are cumbersome. Wider implementation of theEHR may be implemented by focusing on resolving issues that facenurses in the use of the technology for example, operationalproblems associated with the processes.

References

Lavin,M., Harper, E., Barr, N. (2015) &quotHealth Information Technology,Patient Safety, and Professional Nursing Care Documentation in AcuteCare Settings&quot OJIN:The Online Journal of Issues in NursingVol. 20 No. 2.

McGonigle,D. &amp Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursinginformatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.).Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Simpson,R. L. (2012). Technology enables value-based nursing care. NursingAdministration Quarterly36(1), 85-87.

Vinson,M. H., McCallum, R., Thornlow, D. K., &amp Champagne, M. T. (2011).Design, implementation, and evaluation of population-specifictelehealth nursing services. Nursing Economics 29(5), 272-277.