With the increased demand for nursing and allied health professionals in the healthcare sector, the need for innovative practices are quintessential. Healthcare has changed overtime and the shaping of access to proper healthcare in Australia is dependent on multiple influences, affecting the system in numerous ways. Technology, power and politics are major influences within the healthcare sector and are continuously affecting the industry, bringing many changes within a small space of time. These influences can have favourable or unfavourable outcomes and can help to create a better healthcare system in Australia. This essay will show the key influences, technology, power and politics impact healthcare and how this affects nursing staff within …show more content…
the Australian healthcare setting continually. Medical technology is the utilisation of scientific knowledge to improve health care through new means to make work easier (Aggarwal, 2017).
The advance in technology has brought upon many changes, where it is either positive or negative, dependent on the stance taken for this influence. Medical technology has influenced the health care system in Australia, bringing in varied techniques for diagnosis, procedures and many other aspects of healthcare. With the development in technology, telemedicine has been introduced right around Australia, benefitting allied health professionals and nurses especially in a rural setting. Increasingly, existing rural medical facilities are utilising telemedicine to treat patients where less people are employed. Telemedicine is the application of technology to treat and diagnose patients within a remote or rural background (Gregory, 2013). Telemedicine is proving to be a well-regarded use of medical technology where adequate care is provided for patients (Harvey, Yeager, Cramer, Wheeler, & McSwain, 2017). Although this is a positive regarding telemedicine, there are certain limitations within the rural setting, making healthcare access difficult in …show more content…
instances. A research conducted by James Cook University, Townsville explored the use of video-conference within a rural setting to identify whether telemedicine would address pivotal issues within this setting. The study revealed that there was a significant shortage with number of workers in regional Queensland, retention of medical staff and supervision access were identified within the regional setting. However, through the implementation of telemedicine from medical technology, it was noted that it provided readily available guidance to the workers and trainee health professionals to support in their delivery of care (Cameron, Robin, & Sabesan, 2015). It is evident from this example that medical technology has benefitted, having a positive impact on the way healthcare operates. This has influenced the healthcare system, healthcare access and nursing. When assessing influences on the healthcare system, it comes to light that documenting, diagnosing and treatment methods have been altered. The Princess Alexandra Hospital had become the first large-scale digital hospital in Australia in 2015. The execution of medical technology has enabled staff to access patient’s records without using paper files (Queensland Government, 2015). Introducing this has enabled the nurses specially to deliver more patient centred care, where positive outcomes can be achieved through more interaction. There is now less time spent in noting vital signs as relevant health professionals can update on a patient’s condition easily, having the information in one place. Therefore, such advances have really helped the healthcare system, making it streamline and the same across all hospitals. Healthcare access for patients have improved to an extent. Patients from a regional area still struggle with access to healthcare and still travel more than two hours to the nearest major hospital (Australian institute of health and welfare, 2017). This is an aspect that must be further developed to ensure that same level of healthcare access is acquired in metropolitan and rural settings. Registered nurses are important and most involved in the patient’s care from admission to discharge time. As is evident from the effects of these influences, technology will continually be introduced and will become critical for healthcare delivery (Gregory, 2013). This will impact on registered nurses continually as knowledge in technology must be wide and more nurses will be required to keep up with alterations to practices due to the impact of technology (Mather, Gale, & Cummings, 2017). The changes in technology have impacted the healthcare system, creating streamline methods, improving access to regional areas in terms of access and nursing will call for more knowledge in technology. Not only has technology influenced healthcare in Australia, power and politics continually impact on the healthcare system and registered nurses. Power can be defined in many ways. Nevertheless, the definition that stands to this day for this in nursing is that it involves something a person may have over another and has the potential to be influential (Gilmour & Huntington, 2015), meaning that ideas become known amongst others to gain support. Whereas politics is the process of having an influence on the allocation of rare resources (Gilmour & Huntington, 2015). In any organisation or government firm, there is bound to be power and politics. It is quintessential that the power and politics prevalent should not impede the patient’s welfare. The imbalances in power may not possess the best outcome within a multidisciplinary team and there is a constant struggle with power. The University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia had conducted a research study where the results showed that certain groups in allied health all had a reasonable amount to say (MacLellan, Levett-Jones, & Higgins, 2016). In contrast, registered nurses are still at the bottom, suggesting the existence of dominance and power exertion. Power has given certain groups an advantage in the healthcare system and nurses do not have anything, despite the fact they already have power when a patient is within their care (Gilmour & Huntington, 2015), implying nurses are at the lower level in the hierarchy (MacLellan et al., 2016). When such perceptions of power exist, there is bound to be organisational politics impacting the healthcare system. Politics is said to be in every workplace and that it mostly affects the workers, rather than the patients as such.
Evidence of the impact of work politics was found in a study, whereby a worker had reported that having a political stance intended a non-assertive approach, in quest of not disturbing it in anyway. Furthermore, the worker stated that workers must be very cautious of what is said and that the work must be done properly (MacLellan et al., 2016). Accordingly, this shows that opposition in the workplace have certain effects and may not favour staff members, resulting in unfavourable treatment and isolation. Power and politics both have influenced the healthcare system in
Australia. In terms of the healthcare system in Australia, it is evident that there have been some effects with patients and the system is still operating to a certain extent. It is undeniable that power and politics are affecting the healthcare system. The decisions made by executives, politicians and other influential people fundamentally impact on the lives of everyone, including staff and patients (Natale, 2015). As the cost has increased, it has made it difficult for people to access healthcare due to rising expenses (Lancet, 2014), thus, many people refusing treatment and choosing to live with their ailment. As new policies are added to the operation of the healthcare system, it has a direct effect on cost and access to healthcare becomes difficult. It is highlighted that the healthcare system has affected many people from gaining access to the system due to cost and waiting lists for patients to access healthcare (Australian Government Department of Health, 2013). As there is a shortage of healthcare workers across the country, more nurses and allied health staff will be employed (Australian Government Department of Health, 2013). However, the effect of power and politics is that nurses do not have as much power as others in authoritative roles, placing nurses in a vulnerable position. Nurses will continue to be influenced by power and politics, something that cannot be eradicated once and for all (MacLellan et al., 2016). On a continuous basis, nurses will remain towards the bottom of the hierarchy, where they still may be in a tight corner and have little power in certain clinical settings. Overall, technology, power and politics continually impact the healthcare system in Australia. With development in technology, telemedicine has been introduced in rural settings and has favoured patients and healthcare workers in this setting. Registered nurses will be required to have a wide range of knowledge in technology, as there will be more nurses required in the healthcare sector to deliver quality patient care. However, power and politics continue to affect the healthcare system, making it hard for patients to access this due to cost and waiting lists. Registered nurses will still be oppressed with the effect power and politics have in the system. Changes can be made to ensure that patients are able to access the system as well as helping nurses to rise above and come higher in the hierarchy of the healthcare sector.
The result of the Francis Report means that the NHS is at a turning point in how all Health Care is delivered, as suggested by NHS employers “28 of Robert Francis' QC's recommendations are for changes to nursing regulation or delivery”.
Frances Report (2013) gave a report of what led to the failure of the care Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust provided to patients. He reported that this failure is as a result neglect and of lack of good leadership and incompetence fundamental nursing care by health care professionals such this called for a major change in the culture of the NHS across the country. Hence, the innovation team cultivate the culture of transparency, honesty, tru...
In October 1998 the new European Working Time Directive was implemented. Its purpose was to prevent employers from expecting their employees to work excessively long hours. This meant that doctors were only allowed to work an average of 48 hours a week. As a result Registered Nurses had to take on tasks that were previously only performed by doctors taking them away from the patient’s bedside. In March 2000 the government launched a new paper. The NHS Plan. Its purpose was to modernise and reform the NHS and its practices and for it to be more patient centred. This put even more pressure on Registered Nurses to take on ever increasing number the doctors roles therefore removing them yet further away from the bedside. Lord, M. NT (2002) describes the effect that Project 2000 was to have on the education of nurses. The project changed nurse training from an “In house” style of teaching to University based education. This led to the abolishment of the State Enrolled Nurse (SEN) leaving a large skill gap in the workforce. The Royal College of Nursing’s General Secretary, Dr. Peter Carter stated RCN (2007) that 180 000 Registered Nurses (RN’s) were due to retire over the next decade. Combined with ever tightening budgets putting an increased strain on the Health Service it also meant there would be a huge skill shortage. These three events have conspired to introduce and further develop the role of th...
...ward understanding the cost benefit of telemedicine applications. Hospital Topics: Research and Perspectives on Healthcare
The phrase politics of nursing or even politics in nursing has so much meaning to the individual nurse. In nature politics have a dichotomy nature, and depending on who you talk to, their individual slant is unique. This makes the discussion of politics a very complicated issue. Agreement is the basis for the efforts that arise from politics, yet with every issue there are two sides who have to compromise something to get a bit of what they want. So what happens when a nurses are so busy they cannot advocate for themselves? Who will advocate for nurses when they can no longer bridge their essential needs in a health care environment? Unions are a modern option for nurses who struggle with voicing their needs and patient needs in an outdated bureaucratic twenty first century capitalist world of health care. The purpose of this paper is to look into the contributions of Unions on nurses, patient care, and the way health care facilities address issues that limit a collaborative approach to health care.
[20]Charles BL. (2000) Telemedicine can lower costs and improve access. Healthcare Financial Management. 54(4): 66.
Moffatt, J. and Eley, D. (2010). The reported benefits of telehealth for rural Australians. Australian Health Review. 34. 276-281.
The purpose of telemedicine is to remove distance as a barrier to health care. While telehealth is an accepted resource to bridge the gap between local and global health care, integrating telehealth into existing health infrastructures presents a challenge for both governments and policy makers (HRSA, 2011). Today there are policy barriers that prevent the expansion of telehealth, including reimbursement issues raised by Medicare and private payers, state licensure, and liability and privacy concerns.
External and internal influences are relevant in health care. These influences continue to affect the total operations of a health care facility. I will summarize the insights I have gained into the external influences of the new health care reform policy and quality initiatives. The recent health care reform legislation was passed in the house and senate this year. The senior vice president, that I have interviewed, states that health care reform is an “unknown” for organizations. In addition, I will research the quality improvement initiatives and how these external influences include implications for organizations and health care administrators.
Often the biggest barriers to accessing healthcare are cost and location. Lower income individuals just do not have the resources to have optimal healthcare, or cannot take the time away from employment to deal with health issues. One potential solution to help with these problems could be “telehealth.” Telehealth allows a lower level healthcare practitioner to communicate with a physician or specialists when necessary. Remote rural areas use a Physician Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner on location in remote areas. When procedures call for a physician, an internet or satellite link provides a teleconference with a physician who can prescribe appropriate treatment (Gangon, Duplantie, Fortin & Landry 2006). This could be implemented in lower income urban areas, allowing free clinics to lower costs, and require fewer physicians.
ABSTRACT Technology affects society in every aspect in today’s world. There is not one single industry that has not been affected by technology, but no other industry is more affected than the field of medicine and healthcare. Modern technology has changed the structure and organization of the medical field. With rising health care cost the amount of uninsured people keeps rising higher and higher. With new technology the prices will only continue to rise. There are currently approximately 46 million people without health care coverage and that number continues to climb with rising health care cost. Employers are either no longer able to pay for employee insurance because of the 54 percent cost increase, or they are having to change policies
It is not about “what you do”, “it is about who you are and who you know”. As employees, we have all heard sayings like this before when it comes to the business world. The “power and politic” mindset is a direct result of the type of tug of war experienced for millions of years; from prehistoric times through modern day. Ever since Ugha smashed Mugha in the head with a club back in prehistoric times, politics have been around in the workplace. Politics are a subliminal fight for survival and it actually happens in personal lives as much as it does in our work lives. Politics can go hand in hand with power, just as night follows the day. Many of the political situations that occur within a corporation are a result of growth and change. However, part of the task of becoming a viable asset to a corporation is to look beyond the surface and find out where the company is heading as a result of these changes. In this way, employees can position themselves to be a positive part of the growth and change.
From over-crowding and long waiting lists to staff shortages which have knock on effects resulting in inadequate skills mix and unacceptable nurse-patient ratios. An aging population, high birth rates and an increase in chronic diseases also puts pressure on the healthcare system. The nursing role has had to evolve in response to changing societal needs and the challenges in the healthcare system today. (McCurry et al. 2009). This can bring additional challenges to nurses’ professional identity. ??
Even though the technology is purported to be simple and intuitive in nature, many of the participants may be uncomfortable utilizing the technology. In the Sharma and Clarke (2014) article, the nurses felt that the introduction of telehealth significantly increased their workload due to installation of equipment, initial patient assessment and that they had to make daily observation of their patients. There was also a feeling among the nurses that it was not part of their job to install the equipment or troubleshoot problems with the equipment. Another barrier is that the technology may not capture the occurrence, could produce a false reading or provide insufficient data. Technology is not a completely adequate substitution for the human presence that nurses provide. The technology is only as effective as the programming and the accuracy of data entered by the client. Furthermore, the lack of human presence can also contribute to
In another study done by Emmanuel Mutambara, he stated that there is direct impact of politics on organization. His research investigates the effects of organizational politics. The research took a slightly different angle of organizational politics, one that included traditional conceptualizations of politics as typically having a negative effect to the organization and the other view of politics as a positive event within the contemporary organization. Statistical analysis was done to identify common factors on the effects of organizational politics. The research revealed that, organizational motivators, organizational de-motivators, and labor turnover were common factors of organizational politics (Mutambara, Botha, & Bisschoff, 2014). The research recommended that managers and employees must be proactive in dealing with organizational politics. The re-activeness must be encored in democratic decision making in which all parties demonstrate the “will” to work with and through organizational politics notwithstanding consolidation of the positive side of