Pocket Digital Assistants And Use For Staff Nurses

1442 Words3 Pages

The personal digital assistant (PDA) is a handheld device originally designed as personal organizers but over the years have advanced becoming the newest tool in the academic toolbox. It had broad capabilities is a powerful reference source as well as a computer and communicator that can be stored in a pocket.

The PDA was first developed in 1993 by Apple Computer and was named the Newton. Later Palm, Inc. released the Pilot 1000 and 5000 which retailed for about $500 (Wikipedia). Today the PDA has become a necessity to many people. It has a broad range of functions which may include a cell phone, address book, GPS receiver or camera and retails for about $250 (Wikipedia).

The use of the PDA has found a place in the general life of the public but also has become an essential part of many professions. The medical and nursing professions have embraced this technology as well. Due to the ease of programming of the PDA, many programs for use in the medical community have been developed for that operating system. According to Hunt, in 2002 an estimated 18 percent of physicians and only 1 percent, approximately 25,000, of all nurses were using the PDA in their practices.

Currently the PDA is used in a fairly limited manner. Many people use the PDA as a personal organizer, memo pad and phone book whereas many healthcare professionals use it as a resource for patient care. However, some healthcare professionals use it to organize patient data, track patient visits, in...

... middle of paper ...

... Informatics Association. 10(2): 139-149, 2003.

Houck, J.B., (2001). PDAs-Stat-for busy nurses. Retrieved September 28, 2005 from http://www.wirelessnewsfactor.com.

Hunt, E.C. (2002). The value of a PDA to a nurse. Retrieve September 28, 2005 from http://www.unc.edu5/~dbailey1/CONI/nsgpdavalue.doc.

Jenkins, D.L. (2002). Personal digital assistants: A world of information in the palm of your hand. Clinical Nurse Specialist. 16. 38-39.

Lusky, K. (2000). Is a personal digital assistant in your future? Retrieved September 28, 2005 from http://www.nurses.com.

Wilson, S. (2003). Development of a personal digital assistant as point-of-care technology in nursing education. Retrieved September 28, 2005 from http://www.PDAcortex.com

Show More
Related

  • Sonic’s Target Markets

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Sonic PDA will meet the needs of this target market. Consumers today want a device that will be multi-functional, dependable, easy to use, and durable. The Sonic 1000 will meet these needs and perhaps even exceed the consumers’ expectations. The goal of Sonic is to produce the best product that the consumer could need and making a competitive PDA is a top priority. The Sonic 1000 has multiple target markets but the product is designed to be user friendly for all potential users. The older target market is looking for a PDA that is easy to use and navigate. These are needs that are understood and the Sonic 1000 is designed to allow the user a variety of options from menu setup to font size.

    Read More

  • Nursing Informatics Personal Statement

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Working as a professional registered nurse in the hospital, I realized how nurses struggle to find balance between devoting the time charting on the computer and spending time taking care of the patients. Moreover, I’ve seen nurses where they get discouraged trying to find this balance between patients and charting. As a bedside nurse, I would love nothing, but to tend to the needs of my patients. The length of time consume on electronic charting all day, take the very essence of bedside nursing away from nurses, which is caring. Reducing the time of nurses being occupied on charting by eliminating redundant tasks while conforming to their standard, are the changes I would like to make. These are a few of the reasons why I wanted to pursue a degree in informatics. I would advocate for nurses everywhere and to become an instrument in providing them a better electronic health system to work on. Pursuing the degree in nursing informatics will benefit me in

    Read More

  • Technology and True Presence in Nursing

    478 Words  | 1 Pages

    According to the author, nursing practice needs to stay current with technological advances while keeping its identity as a patient focused profession. Nurses use technology to improve care from a patient?s perspective, both in quality of care and cost. At the same time, nurses must learn to balance technological knowledge with personal skills, thus providing optimum clinical care while maintaining a person-focused relationship with the patient.

    Read More

  • EHR Implementation and Effects on Nursing

    2310 Words  | 5 Pages

    McBride, S., Delaney, J., & Tietze, M. (2012). Health Information Technology and Nursing. American Journal of Nursing, 112(8). Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/pdf?AID=1402619&an=00152258-201301000-00010&Journal_ID=&Issue_ID=

    Read More

  • Leadership Profile

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mr. Hawkins vision combined with his personal commitment and desire to constantly improve processes, efficiency, and develop new technologies has proved Jeff to be a leader in innovation. According to Mr Hawkins, "The future of computing is mobile," The PDA is going to be the way people access Internet data and integrate that data with everything else they need to keep track of. This will be most people's PC and Web terminal" (PC Magazine, 2000).

    Read More

  • Meaningful Use for Nurses

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    As technology continues to evolve so does the need for healthcare facilities to continually maintain a higher level of competence that runs parallel to electronic and scientific advancement. Comparatively, the structure of hi-tech facilities, such as medical centers and clinics prepared with new amenities has enhanced the industry scale of communities by working in the healthcare arena. Likewise, technological innovations which help diagnose a variety of infections and disorders has helped in assisting patients in receiving increased quality care. As a result, patient care as a whole has positively been affected within the last decade. Furthermore, it only make sense that more personalized and precise problem-solving methods and procedures will be devised in the future. Accordingly, the following paragraphs will analyze the significance of the Meaningful Use program for nurses, nursing, national health policy, patient outcomes, and population health associated with the collection and use of the programs core criteria.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Electronic Patient Charts

    1430 Words  | 3 Pages

    When walking into a hospital, nursing home, or physician’s office, electronic devices are used everywhere.  The doctors have pagers, drugs are released from an apparatus similar to vending machines, and the patients are connected to intravenous pumps and monitors, while they lay on beds that move with the touch of a button.  Everything seems to be electronic, except for patient charts.  A new system, called eHealth, was devised that would make these patient charts electronic.  The goal for electronic health is to unite all healthcare by making patient records available to all providers in order to improve the quality of care patients receive.  eHealth can be adopted into hospitals, physicians’ offices, and even ambulatory services.  A 2006 study found, “Ambulatory EHRs improve the structure of care delivery, improve clinical processes, and enhance outcomes” (Shekelle 61).  With professionals working together, procedures, scans, tests, and even visits to the hospital can be eliminated and in turn reduce the hospital’s expenses.  However, this reduction may not add up to the investment the facilities will have to make. Adopting this system will cost more the some facilities are able to spend.  However, investing in eHealth is a risk hospitals should take to improve patient care.  eHealth has to become affordable to all providers for healthcare to reach its full potential.

    Read More

  • Standardized Nursing Language Case Study

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    We as nurses rely on technology, but we also have been taught to beware technology from making judgments for our nursing car. We know that technology can be wrong or mess up just like a human; therefore, we must always be knowledgeable and question our practice, to ensure safe nursing. Technology has pros and cons just like the human person does. “Storing clinical data, translating clinical data into information, linking clinical data and domain knowledge, and aggregating clinical data” is a helpful and time saving use of technology (Yoder-Wise, 2015). However, technology sometimes take precious time away; for example, a study found that “nurses spend up to 40% of their workday meeting ever-increasing demands from the systems in which they work” (Yoder-Wise, 2015). Technology also brings up an “ethical dilemma” as to when and how to use “extraordinary means to prolong life for patients with limited or no decision making capabilities” (Yoder-Wise, 2015). When is technology prolonging pain and hindering a peaceful natural death. Other issues like, “safeguarding patient’s welfare, privacy, and confidentiality” have been called into question with use of patient information in the computer systems (Yoder-Wise, 2015). There has to be safety parameter to protect patients according to HIPPA law, for example firewalls (Yoder-Wise, 2015). However, computerized patient information has also been a live saver and time saver because “provider order entry” is more clearly written,

    Read More

  • Importance Of Information Systems/Technology And Patient Care Technology In Nursing

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Information Systems/Technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care is an important part of the DNP. Technology has transformed every aspect of human life in positive ways. Technology brought efficiency and improved healthcare deliverance system. Healthcare technologies enabled practitioners to better understand disease process and how to implement best treatment plan. DNP programs across the country embrace information systems and technology in their nursing curriculum because, it prepares nursing students to be innovative and deliver best care (AACN, 2006). DNP graduates must have the ability to use technology to analyze and disseminate critical information to find solutions that

    Read More

  • The Benefits Of Electronic Medical Records

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also, these studies question those who are effected; in this case, those who are most effected, is everyone. Doctors and nurses spend the most time working within these systems, but the information that is put into these systems effects every individual in America, because it is their information. Because nurses are often considered “both coordinators and providers of patient care” and they “attend to the whole patient,” their opinion is highly regarded (Otieno, Toyama, Asonuma, Kanai-Pak, & Naitoh, 2007, p. 210). It is clear that the use of these new systems is much debated, and many people have their own, individualized opinion. This information suggests that when there is a problem in the medical field, those who address it attempt to gather opinions from everyone who is involved before proceeding. It has been proven by multiple studies that this system of record keeping does in fact have potential to significantly improve patient health through efficiency, and it is because of this that the majority of hospitals have already completed, or begun the transfer from paperless to electronic (Otieno, Toyama, Asonuma, Kanai-Pak, & Naitoh,

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Evidence Based Practice

    1718 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nursing has come a long way in the last decade with computer technology and the ever changing patient technology. Nurses who are not on board with the changes can fall behind. The nurses who are infatuated and excited for technological changes always want to participate in research

    Read More

  • Technology and Nursing

    1848 Words  | 4 Pages

    Technology is stated as the scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective. To go one step further, nursing technology is using a tool to advance nursing practice. “The Institute of medicine identified that technology as a viable method of enhancing patient care delivery and improving staff productivity” Sensmeier, Horowitz (2003 page). Because inadequate nursing staff causes shortcuts to be taken, there are mistakes made that could have possibly been prevented. Errors by nursing staff were variously reported as being responsible for between 44,000 and 98,000 hospital deaths per year. Sensmeier, Horowitz (2003). Technology can have a large impact on nursing. In the past 5 to 10 years, computerized patient records have increased less than 10%. This number shows us that we are still not embracing technology to its full potential. Today in most hospital systems computerized electronic charting is being used. Many hospitals have many different systems for...

    Read More

  • Informatics and Nursing

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Informatics has integrated itself into the nursing practice daily. Sensmeier (2010) states, “Nursing informatics is known today as the "specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice." A main part of a nurse’s job is gathering data and turning it into information that all of the healthcare takers can use. For example, a nurse must take vital signs as part of their “data” and in turn put it into the computer system as information. This information is used to help care for the patient. Informatics impacts a nurse’s duties because of the technology utilized each day. The use of this technology developed transforms the nursing career because it improves patient safety, quality, and efficiency of care delivery (Sensmeier, 2010). Within the technology, nursing care is ultimately impro...

    Read More

  • Greek Use Of Synonyms

    1523 Words  | 4 Pages

    THE USE OF SYNONYMOUS ADJECTIVE “CLEVER” AND “SMART” IN CORPUS 1. Background A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn(σύν) ("with") and onoma (ὄνομα) ("name").

    Read More

  • Applications of Computers in Pharmacy

    1630 Words  | 4 Pages

    • As more hospital pharmacies move in the direction of computer access, the profession must identify more clinical applications for computer programming. The use of computers has demonstrated the potential to decrease adverse events, preserve financial and medical resources, and improve patient management.

    Read More

More about Pocket Digital Assistants And Use For Staff Nurses

Open Document