Bedside Monitoring

Words: 1707
Pages: 7

In our modern world today, technology plays an important role in every industry and even in our own personal lives on a daily basis. One of the most important industries technology has made an impact on is the healthcare industry. Technology is becoming more and more inevitable, especially with the significant positive impact it has made on the healthcare industry. Patient safety and technology go hand-in-hand in today’s modern medical field. That is why it is important to understand how this technology works and how we can continue to improve the safety of the patients as well as the quality of care that the patients receive. As with all technology though, these improvements don’t come without its challenges as well. There are still problems …show more content…
Bedside monitoring includes devices such as pulse oximentry, ventilation monitors, bed alarms, etc. Bedside monitoring has become an important strategy in preventing and identifying medical errors and adverse events. Technology has improved the quality of monitoring patients at the bedside by allowing for continuous monitoring that alerts the healthcare team to any changes in the patient’s condition so they can intervene quickly and efficiently. Some monitoring systems will input the patient’s vital signs into the patients chart so the nurse doesn’t have to do it manually. This allows the nurse to focus more on patient care rather than on a computer inputting information, which ultimately improves the nursing process which has a positive impact on patient safety and quality of care. One major disadvantage to using monitoring and alarm systems is that these alarms can cause alarm fatigue for bedside nurses and other medical staff. Many alarms are false and it is estimated that 85%-95% require no intervention (Ensslin, 2014). This causes caregivers to become desensitized to and ignore alarms, which puts a patients safety at risk. Alarm hazards have been listed as one of the leading health technology hazards because of alarm fatigue. There are several recommendation that can be put in place by healthcare …show more content…
The Internet and even social media have contributed to the way patient’s discover information or where patients go to in order to seek information about a certain condition. This can have its advantages and disadvantages. The use of the internet has enabled patients to exchange information with their medical provider via email and allows patients to join message boards and talk with other people who have the same condition as they do. When used properly with practice and insight, the Internet can be a powerful information resource for patients and medical providers for enhanced communication and improved self-care (Phillips, 2015). Medical providers who engaged with and encouraged patients to seek information had patients who were more significantly satisfied, even if the physician disagreed with the information found. This makes the patient’s feel more involved in their individual care by allowing the patient to feel like more of a partner in the exchange of information. There are also several disadvantages to using the internet as a medical source that puts patient safety at risk. Some will consider online medical information as a substitute for a visit with their physician. This leads missed findings that would normally be found when a physician provides direct medical care to a patient. Some will not even share