Technology in Healthcare
RN COLLABORATIVE WEEK 7 POST Discussion REPLY ( ONE PARAGRAPH AND A RESOURCE)
As our lesson states, hospitals either have employees utilize their personal devices for communication in the workplace, or they provide company devices for employees to use while at work. The use of company-issued devices comes with several advantages. The first and most significant is better security. Due to the ever-evolving technology industry, hospitals need increased security to ensure patient confidentiality is not violated (Chamberlain, 2023). When healthcare information technology (HIT) first became more widely used, there were not as many guidelines or regulations in place to regulate patient privacy (Finkelman, 2020). The introduction of HIPAA required companies to re-evaluate how they were using HIT and create policies and guidelines to ensure confidentiality (Finkelman, 2020). Hospitals have now created policies as to how communication devices should be used, and many hospitals provide their employees with devices to ensure compliancy with HIPAA. Hospital devices allow you to take pictures of patient wounds and upload them directly to the patient’s chart. With company-issued devices, hospitals have better control over how the devices are used and what information is communicated. The hospital can download what apps users may be required to use and provide access to hospital databases to look up hospital policies. The use of company-issued devices can also decrease distraction among staff because the hospital regulates what apps and websites can be reached on the device. One article explains that company-issued devices allow providers and other staff to call nurses directly, improving communication in the workplace (Broussard & Broussard, 2013).
Disadvantages of company-issued devices include the cost of the devices. The hospital must purchase enough devices to ensure each staff member has a communication device and this can be costly, especially when devices are damaged or lost on the job. My hospital provides communication devices that we use only at work; one disadvantage that I have run into is not having enough phones for the number of staff on that shift. On days when we are adequately staffed, we run into a shortage of hospital phones, and they must be shared or borrowed among staff members. This can cause delays in communication. As our book states, hospitals must perform a cost-benefit analysis when choosing to implement new technology (Finkelman, 2020). The hospital must evaluate whether they can afford to provide devices for the number of staff on each unit.
If I were the agency making the decision between personal and company devices, I would choose company devices. I think the use of company devices is optimal for promoting patient confidentiality and safety and minimizing workplace distractions. As mentioned above, companies can better regulate how the devices are used. Companies can more easily upload any applications users may be required to use, promoting uniformity in care how technology is used.
References
Broussard, B. S. & Broussard, A. B. (2013). Using Electronic Communication Safely in Health Care Settings. Nursing for Women’s Health, 17(1), 59–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-486X.12007
Chamberlain University. (2023). NR-447 Week 7: Technology in healthcare. [Online lesson]. Addison, IL.
Finkelman, A. (2020). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care (4th ed.). Pearson.
