Nowadays, the world is going through a medical system crisis, characterized by the rise in the need for chronic care, unavailability of healthcare for most people worldwide, and an increase in health care costs. Under these conditions, much can be done by nurses who are usually in closer contact with patients and can monitor a patient’s status more efficiently. Moreover, it is easier and faster to train lower-level healthcare workers, making them the frontline of medical interventions. Therefore, with some modern solutions, nurses can make a diagnosis, health monitoring, and correcting health-related behavior more available to the patients.
First, nurses can fill the gap in preliminary diagnosis and identify people with a high risk of disease using mobile health technology. As a result, they can either treat patients themselves following clinical care algorithms or refer them to doctors if necessary (The biggest challenges facing global healthcare, 2013). Second, lower-level healthcare workers can support people in improving their lifestyle and food-related habits by teaching them to use special product analyzing apps, for example. Third, nurses can also teach patients with chronic disease how to track and manage their disease, self-monitor their condition, and promptly seek help in case of worsening.
To sum up, it is difficult to overestimate the role of nurses in providing and distributing essential medical care. By using modern technologies, they can make health care more available to people around the world, including by providing faster and cheaper preliminary diagnoses and risks analysis. In addition, lower-level healthcare workers can improve chronic disease care by monitoring it and preventing lifestyle-related diseases from occurring. All of this together may lower or stabilize the cost of medical care services and drugs for many people eliminating unnecessary procedures or excessive drug intervention.
References
Oxford Martin School. (2013). The biggest challenges facing global healthcare [Video]. YouTube. Web.