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Importance and Application of Patient Education Technology in Healthcare

In contemporary society, the advancement in the field of healthcare and particularly clinical medicine, has resulted in the application of information systems in the area. Consequently, one can witness the boost of the health sector’s design, creation, development, application and maintenance of information systems. Interoperable and automated information systems are meant to enhance the quality of care in the industry, reduce costs, improve efficiency, curtail the number of faults and increase patient gratification. One of the current developments in patient education technology is usually used to impart knowledge and familiarize ill individuals with the necessary information. Owing to the innovation and numerous studies conducted through the application of technologies, patient care has significantly improved. Thus, the following paper examines the significance and application of patient education technology, offering its detailed analysis and providing examples and related experiences.

Interactive Technology in Patient Education

The primary transformation in patient education in the nursing sector involves shifting from a healthcare expert choosing what is appropriate for the customer to an approach where cure choices are mutually made due to patient empowerment. Conventional patient education is founded on written resources regarding disease processes, treatment, medical maintenance, and self-care guidelines. However, implementing technology like the Internet, television, and videos has transformed how patients are informed regarding their healthcare. In particular, the interactive technology delivery model has been designed to satisfy the patient’s requirements. Numerous types of research have proved that technology is extremely effective in interaction with ill individuals, increasing their gratification levels in nursing care.

By employing individual patient information combined with the support of medical staff, motivation, and teach-back approaches, interactive technology in nursing care will enhance patients’ understanding and knowledge of their disorder. As a rule, the relevant software is installed on the television in the patient’s room. The information can be presented in different languages, and the content is simple. Consequently, the patients and their relations can understand the materials offered. Usually, when an individual enters the ward, their names appear on the screen, greeting them.

Furthermore, the name of the consulting physician that will be responsible for his/her treatment emerges on the screen. The mentioned above features provided by the use of technology are essential as they involve the patient from the onset, and at the same time, they prevent him/her from being overloaded with a rather big amount of information all at once. Additionally, the interactive software provides daily updates demonstrated on the screen to ensure the person learns about the progress during the stay at the establishment. Moreover, a nurse arranges educational consultations where the patients are given some facts regarding their ailment, while the medical worker utilizes the teach-back approach to evaluate how well the individual has understood the information. Normally, by asking patients questions, a nurse can determine the number of facts memorized, and considering the language constraints, knowledge levels, problems with hearing, and signs of delirium or dementia, he/she can identify if additional sessions are necessary. Therefore, interactive technology features have been significant in facilitating patient awareness.

The changes in healthcare connected with the implementation of the mentioned technologies have benefited all parties. To start from, by engaging ill individuals in the awareness program, nurses also take part in making decisions. Moreover, interactive technology application has enabled medical staff to acquire further knowledge and skills later used in the profession. As for the patients, researchers have revealed that institutions are employing interactive technology to aid them in self-help treatment methods and approaches. This is necessary for those individuals who have been discharged from hospitals and require therapy and follow-up to enhance complete healing. Patients are taught the do’s and don’ts related to the condition and, as such, reduce their treatment period using interactive technology. Undoubtedly, nurses monitor and guide them in the process.

Finally, interactive technology has the feature of modifiability and compatibility. This means that the software can be used on various platforms which are readily available and accessible to patients. The programs are easily filled with learning materials about different conditions and possible treatment methods. These platforms are equally available to patients, clinicians and nurses, enabling them to improve their knowledge and sharpen their skills.

The Discussion of Personal Experience

Handling patients can be daunting, particularly if they come from diverse backgrounds. Challenges associated with working with them entail language barriers and explaining the nature of the conditions that they are suffering from. I experienced the abovementioned issues being employed as a nurse at a major hospital facility. My job duties entailed helping a lot of patients from different backgrounds. Besides, I was responsible for patient education, meaning I had to share knowledge and skills with individuals depending on their illnesses. These roles were a fraction of many of those which were under my jurisdiction. The first few months were hectic, and I could see that the hospital could hardly guarantee client satisfaction. A majority of the patients were dissatisfied. As a result, nurses and other medical staff were significantly demotivated. However, during the third month of my stay in the establishment, its administration embraced information systems to facilitate the delivery of quality healthcare.

Challenges were experienced during the initial stages owing to a need for more skills and user interaction complications. Nevertheless, massive change was evident after the technology had been fully implemented. The hospital had embarked on extensive utilization of interactive technology to facilitate patient education and employed various platforms like tablets which are an efficient approach to raising patients’ awareness. The applications available in the devices enabled the presentation of the necessary information in a personalized manner that was useful in enhancing health care and patients’ experience during their stay at the establishment. By applying the technology, I could perform rounds and show patients their diagnoses with the help of the images on their handheld devices and those provided by the institution. Tablets are considered effective tools regarding patient education as they make the information more mobile and accessible owing to the videos, diagrams, and animations, which aid patients in comprehending their conditions better. To illustrate, Wang, Hsu and Bhatia examine the application of tablets in aesthetic medicine and describe how they are employed to show images before and after the procedures. This assists patients in visualizing what their appearance will be like after the cosmetic procedure. Moreover, they can see pictures of others who have recovered from similar surgeries. At the hospital, the primary objective of utilizing tablets was to provide the patients with a snapshot of the clinical facts that made their stay at the institution less stressful and more engaging.

In general, the advantages of implementing the new developments surpassed the disadvantages. The main benefit was that patients could fully engage in their treatment program, and nurses could provide care based on patient information. Additionally, the language barrier problem was dealt with, and individuals expressed satisfaction at the end of their stay at the hospital. Additionally, the patients left the medical establishment more knowledgeable and fully informed concerning their condition and treatment program. The main disadvantage I observed was that it took some work to adapt to the use of modern devices in the hospital processes. For example, some patients needed more skills to operate the machines, so the nurses had to continue to implement the previous traditional approach in some cases. Moreover, the information systems needed to be more expensive to fully install and establish. Nonetheless, despite the challenges, the overall goal of patient satisfaction was accomplished.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the application of information systems in healthcare has been associated with various benefits, with the key being patient satisfaction. Patient education technology has been a developing field that has substantially impacted the nursing profession. Traditionally, many hospitals employed outdated and manual methods of computer awareness, which were coupled with many challenges. The main of these included a language barrier which had a devastating effect on staff’s morale. However, with the introduction of interactive technology, patient education has been enhanced, and patients are now incorporated into their treatment programs. Through the application of tablets, nurses have been able to impart knowledge with ease in an interactive way through animations and images. Though implementing the new technology has faced various issues, the primary objective of patient satisfaction has been met through different features offered.

📎 References

1. Farahani, A. M. (2013). Factors influencing the patient education: A qualitative research. Iran
2. Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 18(2), 133-139.
3. Hebda, T., & Czar, P. (2013). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
4. Murphy, J. (2010). The journey to meaningful use of electronic health records. Nursing Economics, 28(4), 283–286.
5. Wang, J., Hsu, J., & Bhatia, A. (2012). Expanding the role of the iPad and tablet devices to cosmetic patient consultations.