Technology Devices Serve The Elderly Population At Home

While sometimes used interchangeably in literature, telemedicine is the remote delivery of clinical data using the internet, telephone, wireless, and satellite media (“The Rise of Telehealth,” 2015). Telehealth services are provided through various devices such as cell phones, the internet, video, and computer software. The goal of telehealth is to “provide the right care at the right place at the right time” (“Home Telehealth: A Tool for Diabetic Self-Management,” 2016). Telehealth applications perform a wide array of functions. For instance, certain programs collect objective and subjective findings which help the healthcare team identify a diagnosis. Some telehealth technologies have been designed to allow images to be uploaded and assessed by healthcare professionals. Certain applications provide the patient with remote monitoring. Other services are designed to educate and prevent certain disease processes among its users (“The Rise of Telehealth,” 2015). All of the services which telehealth offer are designed to track various trends in patient data and the goal is that they be as user friendly as

More people are living much longer lives than in years past. People are very surprised to be living much longer lives than they thought they would. Health care has played a large part in patient longevity. There are many normal changes that come along with aging, however, because people are living longer these normal changes can become chronic problems. Common aging problems that can make the older adult a vulnerable population are reviewed in Gerontological Nursing (Tabloski, 2014) and can include nutritional needs, medication management, sleep changes, oral or mouth care, renal problems and musculoskeletal concerns. According to A Profile of Older Americans: 2013 (http://www.hhs.gov), there are a large amount

As consumers utilize smartphones, tablets, and other devices for other functions like social media and email, they are starting to look at these features to assist them with their healthcare. Mobile body area network devices will be a growing trend in the coming years as a way to get patients engaged in their healthcare and also to give providers routine updates on the status of patients with chronic conditions. As DeGaspari (2014) indicates, these devices can lead to improved functionality for other devices used in hospitals, such as sensors for monitoring patients that might get up and wander or be a fall risk. Telemedicine will continue to grow as payers, providers, and patients all start to realize the mutual benefits that can be

According to the Administration on Aging, people age 65 and older currently represent 12.9% of the population of the United States as of 2009, with that number expected to double in the next 15 years (Administration on Aging, 2014). Along with the continued rise in the population of older adults comes an increased need for services specifically addressing the needs of this population. Despite the increasing needs for services for older adults, seniors are among the most overlooked and underserved populations in the United States.

Going back hundreds of years, we can trace the history of health care. Although it has evolved over the years, it all has a common goal; to heal those who are ill. Technology is one of the major evolutions and now plays a big role in the health care system. It helps patients to be more involved with their healthcare. They can make appointments, follow up on test results, and contact their doctors. Back then, they didn’t even have all the medicine we have now, let alone the technology. We can only imagine what is in store for the future.

In 2011, the first of the Baby Boomers – the 78 million men and women born between 1946 and 1964 – will begin turning 65 at a rate of more than 8,000 per day. By year's end, the nation's senior population will have increased by almost 3 million, to nearly 49 million. By 2025, then, the total will reach 72 million – more than double the 35 million at the turn of the new century. (Home Instead Senior Care, 2010). Millions of Americans with chronic diseases and disabilities, like Alzheimer's, heart failure, kidney disease, and diabetes, need careful monitoring but do not want enter a nursing home or skilled care facility. I can recall my grandfather would only agree to go to the doctor's office if he was certain he could return

With the healthcare world evolving the need for traditional provider-patient relationships is changing toward a more complex system. That would allow caregivers and their patients to have a chance to become an active part of the healthcare path. Along with the continuous chance of healthcare business models the way technology is seen is most healthcare systems. The technology is visible and yet seem

In the modern world technology is everywhere and it affects everyone’s daily life. People are constantly attached to cell phones, laptops, and other electronics, which all have affected how people live their lives. Technology is also a large part of the healthcare system today. There are many electronics and technologies that are used in health care, such as electronic health record, medication bar code scanning, electronic documentation, telenursing, and there are many more forms of technology that impact nursing. One technology that stands out is the electronic health record. The electronic health record, also referred to as EHR, is an electronic version of a patient’s chart, and it contains is a list of the patient’s current medications, allergies, laboratory results, diagnoses, immunization dates, images, treatments, and medical history (“Learn EHR Basics,” 2014). The purpose of the electronic health record is to have a patient’s health care record available to health care providers nationwide, but the patient can decide who has access to their record (Edwards, Chiweda, Oyinka, McKay, & Wiles, 2011). The electronic health record is a very important technology in health care and it impacts nurses, nursing care, and has a significant impact on patient outcomes.

The centralized point for the patient information is an integral segment of the clinical transformation. Once an office has transfer from paper-based records to the electronic, he or she will make the records more accessible and easy to obtain through the Tablet PC. With a Tablet PC, doctors along with other medical staff can update a patient's record even when he or she is away from his or her workstation. The Tablet PC will increase the doctor's mobility because; he or she will be able to access the information virtually anywhere, which they would not have to depend on the nurses to pull the charts.

In today’s time, the Internet is really altering the way us Americans intermingle with the healthcare system. The Internet is making consumers more desirable to use it, in hopes for more opportunities. With the help from the Internet, telemedicine is becoming one of the best cultivating advanced technology in healthcare right now. Telemedicine can be defined as the use of medical information that is exchanged from one site to another (americantelemed, 2012). This process utilizes technology and digital communication in order to help patients’ progress. Important aspects of telecommunication include video, email, mobile devices, and more. So, in a nutshell telemedicine allows patients to communicate with their assigned physician about any

In observation, (Fahnestock, McComb, & Deshmukh, 2013) stated "Information technologies are transforming the way healthcare is delivered. Innovations such as computer-based patient records, hospital information systems, computer-based decision support tools, community health information networks and new ways of distributing health information.” (p.3.2). In the sector of delivering healthcare using technology, has made it easier for healthcare professionals to access medical records, digitization of prescriptions and view test results. With the use of high-performance devices being used in the hospital, helps to make the jobs of healthcare professionals a little easier. As well as relieve anxiety from anxious patients that may be awaiting lab results to come back. Therefore, IT devices and services has been and continues to be a tremendous help and game changer for the healthcare system. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to help shape and reform the healthcare

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In today’s world Gerontology has an enormous role to play so that the senior citizens could be analyzed and their needs may be addressed with compassion and empathy.

Nursing of the future builds on old technology and new innovations to continue to grow towards a common goal. Nurses are just starting to see some of the changes happening in their workplace. Laptop computers on wheels aka (Cows) have been implemented to make the recording of patient data happen at the bedside. Larry Flynn and Dave Barista (2005) reported that “Wireless networks allow nurses to continue the care to the patient and not the chart. This is where nursing informatics plays a key role in hospital based technology and implementation of such technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe two health information and communication technologies (HICTs) and how they aid nurses in supporting safe, quality care, facilitating continuity of care and care coordination, and partnering with patients and families to increase participation in health care. HICT involves electronic creation, storage, exchange, and analysis of health information to advance delivery of health care. Widespread use of HICT within the healthcare industry can achieve the following goals: improve healthcare quality and safety, reduce costs and health disparities, enhance clinical research, and ensure security of patient health information (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). Several examples of HICTs include: electronic medical record systems, electronic prescribing, consumer health applications, and telehealth (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], 2015). Integration of HICTs in healthcare settings is valuable for all clinicians, but most importantly nurses as they are primary caregivers.

It is important to understand that patients are very satisfied with electronic health systems. For example, patients see a vast improvement in the speed at which they are being seen when they go their doctors’ office. Patients no longer have to wait on their physicians for hours due to the fact that their information can be readily available to their physicians when they come to see them. Moreover, all their information is transparent to their health care provider since all their data is in electronic form.