Technology can be utilized for health promotion and disease prevention. An example of such a technology is a smart bed, which is a type of bed with sensors that collect information on the occupant. If a patient uses a smart bed, it would gather data about their movement, weight, and breathing. The bed facilitates real-time monitoring of important data on patient status (Ghersi et al., 2018). For instance, if it detects abnormal breathing, it automatically regulates itself until the patient’s vitals normalize. When connected to other medical equipment, a smart bed can also be used for conducting X-ray analysis and measuring blood pressure. Another advantage of these beds is that they help prevent falls, thereby increasing patient safety. They simplify the process of ensuring patient safety since nurses do not have to constantly adjust supplies and equipment for safety reasons. In general, smart beds improve patient care and simplify nurses’ duties.
Advanced practice nurses can integrate the smart bed technology into their practice. One of the duties of these nurses is to perform physical examinations of patients and maintain their health records. Smart beds record important patient data that constitutes physical examination. The beds may be connected to electronic medical records to facilitate easy storage and retrieval of data. Advanced practice nurses also evaluate how well a patient is responding to treatment and make adjustments where necessary. Nurses could use smart beds to track a patient’s response to their plan of care (Ghersi et al., 2018). This is because the beds allow for continuous progress monitoring. Finally, advanced practice nurses can urge other nurses to embrace this technology. Since they are responsible for the oversight of other staff including registered nurses, they should encourage the uptake of this technology for health promotion.
Reference
Ghersi, I., Mariño, M., & Miralles, M. T. (2018). Smart medical beds in patient-care environments of the twenty-first century: A state-of-art survey. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 18(63), 1-12. Web.