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Technology in Healthcare

In: Computers and Technology

Submitted By kevinhartman
Words 2570
Pages 11
The Benefits of Technology in
Nursing and Healthcare

Abstract This paper explores nursing informatics and technology in the emergency department of a local level 1 trauma center. The references cited provide discussion and statistics on several types of nursing informatics utilized today by this facility, including benefits and shortcomings. Personal experience from the author are also incorporated as he witnessed first hand the nursing informatics and technology “explosion” and how this facility incorporated this technology into their daily nursing care over the past 15 years.

In 1995 I acquired a job as a nurse’s aid at the hospital I am currently employed. At the time, they were just introducing computers at the nurse’s stations. It was used primarily for their first generation of Computer-Assisted Physician Order Entry (CAPOE). With exception to limited order entry, all the documentation was still placed on paper charting. Difficulties I encountered first hand included tracking down the chart while other staff members had possession of it. It made charting in a timely fashion almost impossible, and I often found myself charting late entries. Today I am a Certified Emergency Nurse in the Emergency Department of LVHN. In the grand scheme of things, 15 years is relatively a short time, yet the advances in technology I have been witness to are sometimes overwhelming. “Informatics is a field that’s evolving every day, and there’s much to learn” (Abbott, 2002 p. 14). Today, the majority of charting is done electronically. “Modern systems go beyond merely computerizing paper records. These new systems gain control over the generation of information and develop new techniques for using it creatively (Catalano, 2009 p. 367). Even the technology with the equipment we used on our patient’s 15 years ago would be considered antiquated in today’s

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