Ah, what a miraculous invention technology is. It is everything we ever dreamed about–be it in sci-fi flicks or nifty magic tricks, we had the question “can that be done for real?” on our tongue with a gasp of awe. Technology came, it witnessed the stimuli, became the catalyst of changed and conquered everything within the sunlight’s reach and beyond.
If there has been a debate on which sector has technology impacted the most, we simpletons would probably pick out smartphones or something with a screen. But technological innovation has been most impactful in the healthcare industry. Come to think of it, and there isn’t a nobler and more philanthropic utilization of this modern marvel than to save lives. The healthcare sector is eternally thankful for technological innovation–something which directly helps humanity thrive in tough times to come.
When we delved deeper into the intricacies of healthcare and technology, we found that the nursing sector has seen most changes due to health-tech. Nurses are the ones who stay on ground zero along with the doctors, and if the technology works in their favor, a lot more lives can be saved.
But is the fusion of the healthcare industry along with technological innovation a boon, or it’s just a strategically masqueraded bane?
Of course, there are two sides of every implication, and this one does too. The “Health-Tech” industry has given rise to a lot of live-saving opportunities for nurses, but it also has a dark side. Let’s scrutinize this health and technological duo by looking at the pros and cons of technology in nursing. Also, is there a way to save ourselves from the wrong side? Yes! Read away and find the solution to most problems that have arisen out of this rather unsettling wedlock.
Pros of Health-Tech in Nursing
We’ve already sung laurels and lullabies in favor of technology impacting the healthcare industry. Nursing is now a whole lot simple with technological advancements, so let’s have a look at some of the advantages of technology in nursing:
Efficient, Hassle-Free Communication
Due to breakthroughs like video conferencing, interactive IMs and internet-based audio calls, the barriers to communication are just a mere blemish in the past horizon. This has made patient-care a whole lot real-time for nurses as the patients can call up the nurse in case of emergencies or clear their doubts via IMs.
The comfort and of having someone to consult at times of need keeps patients and their kin at ease. Many hospitals and clinics have come up with mobile applications where patients can find solutions to their problems, and if not, they can contact a professional in a few touches.
Crucial Element in Doctoral Education
Those good old’ days of several students learning from one specimen are over. With various advancements in the field of simulation, it is possible for medical students to gain that much-needed experience before going into the major leagues. Augmented reality is used to teach students how things should be done, while Virtual Reality interactive simulations provide students with hands-on surgical experience.
Then there’s the essential (and somewhat unavoidable) advantage–with a vast knowledge base at the learner’s disposal, classroom learning transcends into a much deeper knowledge pool due to easy accessibility of communications, research, and resources.
Improved Measures in Healthcare
The critical element of development and innovation in health-tech is the welfare of society as a whole. These technological jigs have helped patients receive better healthcare services, and that’s made healthcare accessible to all.
Cons of Health-Tech in Nursing
You must be wondering, “what might be a setback of technological innovation in healthcare?” Come to think of it, health-tech exists to make people’s lives better, right? That was the original plan, but there are lots of drawbacks of technology in nursing that hinders its original objective. Let’s look at some disadvantages of technology in nursing.
Internet Connectivity
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the web of devices which function on internet connectivity. According to surveys and census readings, less than 50% of the world population uses the internet while the other part of the world is still reading shampoo bottles to pass the time in the toilet. For people devoid of internet connectivity and smartphones, no amount of health-tech can change things for the better–period.
Equipment Malfunction
Don’t you feel like kicking yourself if your laptop doesn’t work? Imagine what’d be like if technology stops working in the middle of open-heart surgery–that’d be fatal. Yes, the technique might be useful and all for nurses and doctors, but if health-tech malfunctions due to power outage or internal errors, it can turn the doctor’s and nurse’s career upside down, let alone the patient’s life. Too much reliance on anything proves to be deadly.
Breach of Data
This data breach we are talking about is not just your facebook identity being stolen. Healthcare data is sensitive to the highest order as a patient’s medical history is confidential to the highest order. Many hospitals and clinics leave their data open for attackers and hackers to pry on, and these impacts millions of patients. Healthcare data breaches have been done through laptops, free spreadsheets, unlocked smartphones, and the most significant concern–inefficient electronic health records management.
Even though the other cons of health-tech industries are avoidable and can be taken care of, this one’s insanely dangerous. But thankfully, healthcare techies have found a way to guard patients and their private health records.
EHRs to the Rescue
Electronic Health Records are proverbial warriors of the health-tech generation. This miraculous machine is supposed to keep patient’s records safe and to protect them from thievery, data breach, and sensitive data falling into the wrong hands. Although this makes it sound like a vault with the golden key, an EHR workstation has much more utility than ensuring data security.
EHR Workstations are a small piece of tech, and they can be fitted into the most modest of corners. Nurses, doctors, and surgeons use it to input patients’ healthcare data. Most of the EHR Workstations are deemed to be safe from an outside data breach, but not all EHRs are safe enough.
For the very reason, Enovate Medical has come up with a plethora of EHR Workstations–all of which are highly compatible for largest of hospitals and smallest of clinics. These distinct ranges of EHR Workstations encrypt the patient data so that it stays away from wrong hands. With health-tech aiming to shoot for the moon, there has to be a guardian angel protecting patients’ privacy.
Keeping an element of security and convenience in mind, Enovate has come up with this range of EHRs. While some variants can be rolled around from one room to the other, there are fixable EHR Workstations which can be installed in the tightest of clinics. Check out the whole range at Enovate Medical.
Health-Tech has a Long Way to Go
Technological innovation is here to save lives, but we should be wary of the problems associated with it. Health-tech should be used, but it should be kept in check at the same time. Because an apple a day won’t keep the hackers away!
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