The Adoption of Information Technologies in the Nursing Sector

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The process of digitalisation has necessitated adoption of information technology in different aspects of health management. In the nursing sector, adoption on information technology has led to emergence of health information systems. A health information system entails a computer technology that can capture store, manage and/or transfer any health related information. This information can be of an individual or an organization. Technology has positively impacted the role of the nurse in the health care setting through observation. The development of Health information systems is aimed at integration of the effort of collection, processing, reporting and using the information and data so as to influence the process of decision making, planning, medication and research.
Health information systems (HIS) are one major technology breakthrough that supports documentation of patients’ records and ordering processes. This has replaced the manual process and records. Health information systems is an information system that is developed to collect, store, manipulate, and present of all the clinical information that is relevant to delivery of professional and competent patient care. For example, there are bedside medication verifications (BMVs), point-of-care, or other scanning modules. Through electronic health record (EHR), that is linked to drugs’ a bar-code labels help ensure proper medication. It works by prompting a nurse who works at the point of care to scan the drug labels as well as the bar code on the patients’ identification bracelets to. This ensures right dosage is given timely and to the right patient. The system flags a nurse if there is an error (Dubin, 2010). The system allow encoding of knowledge that can ...

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...s a two-way, audio-visual transmission of information at reasonable costs. The system also allows for cost effective capacity building of nurses and improved healthcare delivery, more so in rural and remote areas.
In conclusion, to be effective, a technology health system requires a sound regulatory, legal and policy structures. These should be both in the telecommunications and the health sectors. To be implemented, a good e-healthcare system requires a clear vision, planning in building and maintaining of adequate technological infrastructures, committed and well trained end-users / ICT literate citizenry, and political goodwill. Some key issues in the provision of e-health also include data security and privacy. However some challenges in adoption of healthcare Information technologies exist such as high costs and change resistance though they can be addressed.

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