Introduction
Pertussis, also known as Whooping Cough, is a highly contagious disease that affects both adults and children. An outbreak of Pertussis may be considered a disaster in some cases, especially when it affects young children whose immune systems are not strong enough to deal with the infection. Before the vaccine for this disease was found, Gantz (2006) says that it killed about 10,000 people on an annual basis in the United States. However, this changed when a vaccine became available.
The report by Edberg (2006) shows that cases of Pertussis are on the rise once again and this poses serious threats, especially among children below 5 years. To deal with this problem, it is important to have a disaster response system that can be used to arrest such outbreaks to eliminate possible causes of casualties. Rapid response to such a disaster is not a responsibility of a specific institution. All healthcare institutions, both public and private, must come together to coordinate closely in responding to such disasters.
According to Edberg (2006), regional health information organizations (RHIO) have become the common platform for sharing relevant data in such cases. Using electronic health records (EHRs), the practitioners can share the relevant data within the shortest time possible to respond effectively to disasters. Developing a comprehensive plan on how the information is to be shared, and how to respond to the disaster is important, especially when such eventualities cannot be addressed elsewhere. In this proposal, the researcher seeks to evaluate the use of electronic health records as an interoperable approach to disaster and response planning.
Available Resources
Pertussis was considered a serious disease in the 1950s when the vaccine had not been found. However, it ceased to be a serious threat when its vaccination became available. For this reason, many healthcare centers never considered having piles of medicine because of the reduced cases of the disease. Edberg (2006) says that this is dangerous because cases of outbreaks of this disease have become common in the country, and the need for an immediate response is now relevant.
Having the right medication, a team of staff and the right information is very important in defeating this disease. The disaster planning committee has several resources that are available through the regional health information organization (RHIO). Gantz (2006) says that to manage this disease, there must be effective structures in place to respond to emergencies. Currently, most healthcare centers have medicines that are used in the treatment of the disease.
These hospitals have the right antibiotics that can be administered to patients diagnosed with the disease. These hospitals also have the right testing kits needed when diagnosing a patient for the disease. Apart from the infrastructural needs and medications, other resources may also be very important when responding to the disease. In the United States, various non-governmental agencies have been working very closely with government agencies to help manage outbreaks of such diseases like whooping cough. According to McCaffrey (2012), these non-governmental organizations have been very instrumental in offering various services.
This is very important in enhancing early detection of the disease because they are always in close contact with the community. What makes them even more important is that they are always willing to take part in community awareness campaigns. This way, it is easy to detect any outbreaks before more members of society are affected. These organizations also have various instruments that can help in battling the disease.
They have vehicles that can be used in the rapid response system. These can be used in rushing patients to the hospitals for immediate medication. Other than these vehicles, facilities are equipped with improved communication systems needed to coordinate various agencies and individuals who are responsible for responding to the outbreaks (Youngberg, 2013). These communication systems play an important role in ensuring that knowledge management is effectively implemented.
Informatics that Would Support Consumer Education Needs
As members of this committee, we need to understand the relevant informatics that will be needed to support consumer education needs. According to Buckeridge and Goel (2001), health informatics is very important when responding to cases of emergency during the outbreak of whooping cough. To manage this disease, it is important to have an integrated communication system supporting that various entities could coordinate easily to ensure that knowledge is shared effectively among various health experts. Sullivan and Wyatt (2005) say that informatics will be needed by these experts in various areas to avoid duplication of work.
One of the reasons why disaster management has faced many challenges is because, in most of the cases, there was always no direct communication link between various professionals. This may result in a situation where a patient spends a very long time before he or she can get proper medical attention. Health informatics seeks to address this problem effectively. Nursing informatics will be necessary for the proper management of patients, especially those who are admitted. By having all the relevant data needed by the nurses, it is possible to identify the problems that may arise within this department early enough.
Edberg (2006) says that nursing informatics is vital in disaster management when there is limited time for the nurses to move around collecting duplicate data from the patients. Pharmacy informatics may also be necessary for the effective administration of medicines. When prescribing medicine for the patients, there is some important information that should be available to avoid cases of administering wrong medications. The patient may be allergic to some medicines, or a given condition of a patient may not require a given type of medicine. In fact, Coiera (2005) says that effective pharmacy informatics may make it possible for the doctor to communicate with the patient through technological systems and inquire about any other relevant information without having to move to the physical location of the patient.
It may be necessary to organize education forums for the public or health experts who are directly involved in the management of Pertussis. The public should be informed on how to detect the disease, and on the importance of seeking medication early enough. The health experts should know how to respond to cases of outbreaks. Knowing easily accessible makes the learning process simpler, and more enjoyable. The informatics may also be very beneficial in a community awareness campaign to enhance their knowledge about the disease.
How Decision Support Systems would be Integrated
To manage Pertussis, it is important to have an effective decision support system that will be used by the relevant authorities. According to Eysenbach (2000), the traditional stand-alone decision support systems (DSS) have been facing serious challenges in terms of performance. An integrated decision support system (IDSS) has become very popular in the current society, and it will be needed in this decision.
To integrate the current DSS, we will use the information technology to link up various data and individuals at various departments. This will ensure that every decision made is informed by holistic facts taken from various departments. It will also eliminate cases where only the top management unit does the decision-making. This will enhance the quality of patient care. Making an informed decision guarantees the patient’s safety by eliminating erratic decisions.
How interoperable EHRs contribute to the success of nursing and medical efforts in a disaster
Interoperable electronic health records play an important role in ensuring that there are successful medical and nursing efforts in the process of disaster management (Wyatt & Liu, 2002). When managing a disaster, different doctors will need information about the patients at different stages. Interoperable electronic health records help in ensuring that the information about the patient is effectively stored so that any subsequent doctor may know the diagnosis and the conclusions of the previous doctors. This will help in speeding up the medical processes, as duplication of works will be eliminated.
Doctors will be able to share their findings and find a common course of addressing a given problem. The nurses will need the history of the patient’s medication process and the nature of medicine that a patient should be given. When this information is available electronically, it becomes easy to administer the medicine and monitor the progress of the patient. This also helps the nurses to know how to plan for the admission of such patients into the wards to avoid cases of re-infection.
How interoperable EHRs contribute to progress in research and EBP
Electronic health records are very important in enhancing medical research and evidence-based practice. According to Coiera (2005), to achieve success in research, the researchers must share the knowledge they gather to find a common course towards a given project. Electronic health records make it possible to share this kind of information amongst the researchers, enhancing their ability to expand their knowledge in a specific area. This is very important in enhancing evidence-based practice. Medical experts can find a common solution to a given problem through coordinated and intensive research.
The role of nurses in this proposal
Nurses will play an important role in this plan because they are an integral part of this hospital. Nurses are the caregivers for the patients. During the process of managing a disaster, nurses will be at the center stage because they will be needed in almost all the departments. At the reception where the patients are received, nurses will be needed to take the patients to the right units. At the wards, nurses will be responsible for the general care of the patients. They will also need to discharge and give medicines to the patients. This makes them the central players in this plan.
Conclusion
Managing Pertussis is very important, especially given its highly contagious nature. Using electronic health records in hospitals is very important in managing the patients’ data and for close coordination of health professionals. Although this plan may cost the hospital a substantial amount of financial resources to purchase and install the system, the facility will reap higher benefits not only due to the effective management of the patients but also due to enhanced research and evidence-based practice. It will help manage the possible outbreak of this disease.
References
Buckeridge, D. & Goel, V. (2001). Health Informatics Education: An Opportunity for Public Health in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 92(3), 233-236.
Coiera, E. (2005). Four rules for the reinvention of health care. British Medical Journal, 328(7449), 1197-1199.
Edberg, S. (2006). Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network: A World Wide Web-Based Program for Diagnosis and Informatics in Infectious Diseases. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 40(1), 123-126.
Eysenbach, G. (2000). Recent Advances: Consumer Health Informatics. British Medical Journal, 320(7251), 1713-1716.
Gantz, N. (2006). Manual of Clinical Problems in Infectious Disease. Philadephia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
McCaffrey, R. (2012). Doctor of nursing practice: Enhancing professional development. Philadelphia: Davis Company.
Sullivan, F. & Wyatt, J. (2005). ABC Of Health Informatics: Improving Services With Informatics Tools. British Medical Journal, 331(7526), 1190-1192.
Wyatt, J. &. Liu, L. (2002). Basic Concepts in Medical Informatics. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56(11), 808-812.
Youngberg, B. (2013). Patient safety handbook. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning.