Technology has become deeply integrated into healthcare nowadays, resulting in improved safety and efficiency of care. According to Kooij, Groen, and van Harten (2017), technology has enhanced information accessibility, facilitated information exchange, and decreased healthcare costs. However, for information technology to bring actual benefits, healthcare professionals should know how to use different technologies and be able to extract relevant and reliable information from a vast amount of available data. In this paper, I will provide a clinical example from my nursing practice, which will illustrate how I demonstrated my technology skills and information literacy.
I cared for a 54-year-old male patient diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I performed a regular procedure of measuring blood pressure (BP) and detected that the patient’s BP was high. I used the electronic health records (EHRs) to enter the patient data and scheduled another appointment with this patient next week. At the following visit, the patient’s BP was high again, and I suspected that he had hypertension. I advised him to consult a physician, and my use of EHRs appeared to be helpful because it allowed the physician to access patient data easily and confirm the diagnosis of hypertension. Thus, I effectively integrated the appropriate technology to improve care. By using EHRs, I also met the competency of using the data-capturing technology system.
As the patient’s diagnosis was confirmed, I was faced with the task of educating him about lifestyle changes because it turned out that the patient did not know hypertension management. To do so, I performed an information search to identify evidence-based practices for patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension. I used databases such as PubMed to ensure that the information I found was credible and relevant.
This way, I met the competencies of translating health information suitable for the patient’s needs and demonstrated information literacy skills in decision-making. Unfortunately, I have not contributed to the design of health information systems for better healthcare. However, I am progressing in this area by learning to work with various technologies and paying attention to what features of these technologies contribute to the quality, safety, and efficiency of care.
Reference
Kooij, L., Groen, W. G., & van Harten, W. H. (2017). The effectiveness of information technology-supported shared care for patients with chronic disease: A systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(6), e221. Web.