Use of Computer's in the Nursing Profession.

NURSING MADE EASY

How Computers Are Used in the Nursing Profession.

We know that computers & information technology going very fast in various field. In medical field. We know that Nurses work closely with doctors and other medical professionals to manage and implement healthcare plans for patients. In today's medical facilities, nurses must have a good grasp of how computers are used in the nursing profession. In most instances, medical staff no longer need to decode doctor's orders and patient needs that were written on a bedside medical chart. Electronic health records help doctors and nurses communicate more efficiently by eliminating most misinterpretations of written and verbal orders. Using computers, smartphones and tablets, nurses can create and manage electronic health records and update them, as needed.

In providing Treatment and Medications

Nurses now use electronic health records to record and review prescribed medications. They also use software programs and apps to manage patient medications. These programs and apps help nurses not only avoid medication errors, they also prevent unintended drug interactions. Once a medical facility assigns an identification number to a patient, nurses can retrieve the patient's health record and verify medication orders before they administer any prescriptions. They also document the care that was provided and make recommendations about patient treatments. Software and electronic device apps also help nurses update patient records, using diagnostic and treatment codes, instead of paper charts and whiteboards. Computer security technology also helps nurses keep patient records private.

 in Diagnosis

Electronic health records make it easier for medical professionals to record, retrieve and manage patient data for accurate diagnoses. Nurses often perform routine health assessments such as blood pressure, oxygen levels and even EKGs. Recording the results of these assessments is more accurate when nurses have the technological skills that enable them to save the readings electronically and to store them in a patient's electronic health record. Once captured and recorded, the records will be available immediately for the entire patient care team, reducing the need for physicians to make trips to the patient's room to retrieve diagnostic data. Today's technology also enables nurses to access essential nursing tools and key medical references online, reducing diagnosis time and errors. Computer technology also enables nurses to create records that doctors use to update patient treatment orders more efficiently, when the patient's condition requires it.

Telemedicine 

Persistent shortages of nursing staff in the United States has left rural areas and some underserved urban communities with less overall access to quality healthcare. However, telemedicine enables these populations to have the option of discussing health concerns with nurses, who can help them decide whether or not they need to get treatment at a medical facility. Telemedicine is also useful for seniors and patients who have disabilities, for whom a trip to a doctor is often challenging. Nurses need technology to assist patients over the phone, in which the nurses record their recommendations using software or they record the recommendations in the patient's medical record. Nurses can use software or an app to communicate with other members of the patient's care team and family members, as needed

With health care record-keeping, diagnostic and treatment techniques, and patient/provider communications going digital, registered nurses must continually keep current with their technology skills. Staying abreast of the different types of information technology in health care keeps you employable so you can move up the ladder at your place of work and in your career.

Track for Medical Record-Keeping, using, Computers 

Some nurses meet with patients to take their medical and family health histories. This information helps doctors diagnose potential problems. In the case of cancer patients, all their records go into state and federal cancer registries. Cancer registrars transcribe handwritten nurse and doctor notes and computer reports.

Nurses can specialize in health care record-keeping by becoming trained and certified in nursing informatics, explains the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. This specialty area requires expertise in using electronic medical records or electronic health record systems and other tools to record and share information involving patient diagnosis, treatment, medications and rehabilitations, points out Health . In addition to knowing how to keep records, nurses need to stay current with health care laws requiring medical record-keeping.

 Setting Up Patients

When patients first come to a health care provider, their information is entered into the provider’s system. It typically includes creating a patient profile and setting up payment and health insurance information. Registered nurses need a basic understanding of how to use computers, including word processing software, email and online communications tools, such as virtual meeting programs.

 Diagnosing / Monitoring Patients

Depending on the practice, nurses take vital signs, draw blood, send patients to be X-rayed, arrange for specific medical tests, and use other technologies to help doctors diagnose diseases and conditions.

After patients are treated, they might be required to stay in the hospital for observation. Nurses must be able to use monitoring technology, which provides information on heart rates, blood pressure and other vital signs. 

Treating patients

After patients are diagnosed, they often need to be treated with more than just medicine. Surgical nurses and nurse anesthetists assist surgeons before, during and after surgery. They take care of some of the equipment used in surgery. Some nurses help with physical therapy or work with therapists who create treatment programs. Sonographers create images of muscles, organs and fetuses.

  Record maintenance with the help of Computers

Depending on the size of a practice, a nurse might need to help out with the practice’s business records. This includes entering treatment information into billing systems, submitting insurance paperwork, and reviewing invoices for accuracy.

These tasks are usually performed by an office manager that comes to a nurse to answer questions. Working with nurses, office managers take up less of a doctor’s time. At large facilities, and depending on the nurse’s specialty, she might never be involved with billing but must provide accurate records that the billing department can use to generate invoices and submit insurance claims.

Even a profession as personal and interactive as nursing can benefit from having a computer handy. Nursing informatics helps patients by incorporating IT into the nursing world, RegisteredNursing.org explains. Digital records for test results, nursing notes and medication records are examples of informatics. However, like many tech advances, informatics has a downside.

Electronic Health Records with Soft Copy

The nationwide electronic health record system makes it necessary for all nurses to have working knowledge of computer systems to carry out their day-to-day duties of administration and patient care. Computer competencies for nurses include understanding how and when to use electronic health records to input and access information on their patients' symptoms, allergies, medications, lab results and health history.

Computer Technology in Practice

Increasingly powerful microprocessors have made it possible for a new generation of smartphones, tablets, sophisticated medical equipment and specialized medical devices to play a role in daily patient care. As front-line care providers, technologically savvy nurses in all clinical specialties will play a crucial role in field-testing new devices and their corresponding software applications. Some nurses with excellent computer literacy in nursing informatics might even find work as consultants to software developers working on applications for the health care market. Ambitious nurses have a number of career paths open to them in management, consulting, research and academia. Good computer skills, ranging from the use of industry-specific software to commercial programs including Word and Excel, are important to all of these career paths.

Education and Training for IT Skill

One of the gravest responsibilities in any knowledge-based profession is passing that knowledge to a new generation of practitioners. The next generation of nurse educators will need a solid grounding in nursing informatics to teach new nurses the computer skills they'll need to succeed in the workplace. This will also be crucial for more experienced educators, especially those who came late to computer use and must expend extra time and effort on the necessary professional upgrades and continuing education.

 With increasing demands for efficient health care delivery system, it can be concluded that computers are now a necessity in order to improve nursing practice encompassing nursing education, nursing research, nursing administration and the nursing process as a whole. Life is being dealt with in the field of nursing that is why it entails further standardization in all its applications. Its implementation could be a hindrance among developing countries, however, this computerized system among health care units should be adopted in time. Health is wealth after all.