Technology and Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Technology and Decision Making EssayThe pure tone of patient of c atomic number 18, communion betwixt health c atomic number 18 staff, and the safety of patients has greatly alter since the onset of engineering science. Through the betterment of entropy technology, the ability to collect info and manage the decisivenesss based on the data collected has enhanced in the clinical setting as well as in the business portion. wellness interest informatics incorporates theories from breedingal science, computer science, and cognitive science (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). This development helps to gather and process it in order to strike an informed decision. Important information could be missed if the data is ignored. Some of the around recent technology which embarrasss the cyberspace and cell phones has made it possible to access information quickly in order to make the dress hat decision for the patient in order to provide good tone aid. Technology changes ever y sidereal day and it is important to keep up with these changes that will help maintenance clinical decisions made by the c argivers. This base on informatics will show the systems and information theories, the DIK feigning, and the role of the expert system in nurse negociate and medicament. carcass and information theoriesSystem. A system is a set of get in touchd interacting parts envelop in a boundary (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p.5). There are many types of systems which include but are non limited to computer systems, school systems, health oversee systems, and people. Systems push aside be living or nonliving, light or closed. Closed systems do not act with the environment whereas open system set about the ability to act with the environment. Open systems kitty be apply to understand technology and those undivideds associated with its use. This type of system takes input from the environment, processes it, and then returns it back to the environment as output , which serves as feedback.This theory privy better help the individual(a) understand the way people work with systems in the health care industry and allow for a visualization of the whole picture. A common term using in computer science is GIGO, dribble in, garbage out. This applies in the sense that a system is only as good as its user. If the user is inputting garbage, or poor quality data, the computer is likely to output the same. A system requires an entire source in order for accurate material to be produced as a result. Open systems have three types of characteristics which include resolve, functions, and structure (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). The purpose is the reason for the existence of the system or the program and is most often stated in the organizations boot statement. This is true for health care organizations, churches, and schools.For example, the mission statement of the local public health department to invoke health, pr so fart illness, and control commun ic equal to(p) illness by providing quality services, health education, and environmental services for the community. Computer systems are often classified by their purpose and may have more than one purpose. By selecting a purpose that all individuals learn upon within the organization, a system give the sack be chosen. It is important to take the while to identify the purpose with all those who will be using the system. Functions identify the methods in which the system will achieve its purpose. Functions are activities that a system carries out to achieve its purpose (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p.6). When a computer system is chosen a list of functional specification moldiness be put in writing to identify individually function and how it will be performed. Systems are structured to allow the functions to be carried out.Some examples of structured systems include the nurse department. The nurse in the boot will assign patients to the staff nurses with the purpose to provide care. The charge nurse will ensure that the team is functioning with the ability to provide the care the patient unavoidably and deserves. Two different perplexs can be use to visualize the structure of a system hierarchic and web. In the hierarchical type, each computer is a part of the local area network (LAN) which in turn is part of a wide area network (WAN) that is connected to the central processing unit computer system. The mainframe is the leader of the system or lead part. The web model functions much like that of a spider-web. It has the strength to pass information to many departments that may use it for different purposes. For example,laboratory results may be move to the pharmacy to calculate a medication dosage and patient vitals may be displace to another department for review and use. A system includes structural elements from both the web and hierarchical model (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p.7).Everything living or nonliving are in a constant state of change. Six c at oncepts are helpful in understanding the change process 1)dynamic homeostasis, 2)entropy, 3)negentropy, 4) specialization, 5)reverberation, and 6)equifinality. Dynamic homeostasis consists of maintaining an equal balance within the system. At times, make upd stress can throw off the balance and cause challenges to the organization. A health care informatics specialists job is to diminution the stress and restore the balance within the organization. sec can be best described as the tendency of the system to break down into parts. This can be the loss of some data when transmitted from one department to another. All systems, living or nonliving, reach a point where they are no long-lived repairable. When this point is reached, a system moldiness be replaced. Negentropy is the opposite of entropy and is best described as the systems ability to breed and become more complex. As the size of the health care industry grows, so do the health care information systems. Informat ion technology. Information technology has the potential to greatly streamline healthcare and greatly reduce the chance of valet error.However, on that point is a growing literature indicating that if systems are not knowing adequately they may actually increase the possibility of error in the complex interaction between clinician and machine in healthcare (Borycki, E., Kushniruk, A., Brender, J., 2010, p. 714). The term information has more than one meaning and the term information theory refers to multiple theories. The two common theoretical theories of information theories are Shannon and Weavers information-communication model and Blums model (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p. 10). The information theory was presented as a formal theory in 1948 with a publication by Claude Shannon titled A Mathematical Theory of Communication. In this theory, the sender is the power of the message and then the encoder converts the message into a code.A code can be a number, symbol, letters, or words. The decoder then converts the message to a format that can be recognized by the stupefyr. Shannon was a telephone engineer and explained this theory in a way that the decoder was thetelephone converting sound waves into a message the receiver could understand. Warren Weaver, from the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, provided the interpretation for understanding the semantic meaning of a message (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p. 12). He used Shannons works to explain the interpretational aspects of communication as each individual perceives things different from the next. Different types of circumstances may occur causing a message to be construe wrong.For example, if a physician is using medical terminology that the patient cannot understand there is definitely a communication problem. If the patient cannot hear what is creation said because the ear is not transmitting sound, then there is a different type of communication problem. The message must convey meaning and produce the think result. Bruce L. Blum defined three types of health care computing applications called Blums Model. He grouped these applications in data, information, or familiarity. selective information are those things such as height, weight, age, and name. Information is defined as data that has been processed. Knowledge is the mixturered between data and information. Using these concepts, it is possible to identify different levels of computing and automated systems.Data, Information, and Knowledge (DIK) modelHealthcare informatics can be explained using a model consisting of three parts data, information, and knowledge (Georgiou, 2002). The three parts are demonstrated using a hierarchy pyramid. Data is the platform in the model, representing the put upation. Data is represented as facts and observations, but without backing context, the data is irrelevant. Until the information is validated or manipulated the data is not significant, once it is manipulated, the data can provide value to the user. Information is the product of data once the data has been manipulated. The result of data and information is evidence-based knowledge. Evidence based knowledge can be used to support evidence based medicine. Some individuals feel that too much focus has been put on data, limiting the ability to practice medicine as a science. Instead, the use of data suggests that medicine is being practiced based on statistics instead of science.Yet, the same critics will use the same hierarchy of data, information and knowledge to dispense a patient that develops a fever after hip surgery. The fever solo does not provide significant information but combined with information of arecent surgery, a physician will test further for signs of infection. The end result is the knowledge of why the patient is feverish. backwash informatics in the form of the decision-information-knowledge (DIK) model allows individuals to see the process as a whole. The data must be ac curately representing what is occurring or the information will not be accurate. The statement, dirty in, dirty out, can be applied to the platform of the model. It is essential that clean data be entered into the system, allowing clean data and information to be produced. The product, knowledge, can then be substantiated through the evidence produced. Just as evidence is used to make clinical decisions, the DIK model is used, in conjunction with the scientific information, to build evidence based medicine. Health informatics involves spreading and distributing information as just one piece of the process of producing knowledge which is mixed (Georgiou, 2002).The role of expert system in care for care and medicineNurses and other health care professionals make decisions on a daily basis that affect patients care and treatment. Nurses and health care professionals are not expert in all areas of nursing care and medicine. Health care workers specialized in certain area or field of m edicine or nursing are not perpetually readily in stock(predicate) to everyone. gifted systems have been developed to assist medical and health care providers with decisions about care and treatment of patient. An expert system is a knowledge-based computer program designed to enhance the human ability to analyze, problem solve, treat, diagnose, and estimate prognosis of health-related conditions (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p. 114). Nursing expert systems can improve the overall quality of care when designed for the appropriate end-user group and based on a knowledge base reflecting nursing expertise (Courtney, Alexander, and Demiris, 2008, P. 697).Examples of expert systems include MYCIN, a system that advise physicians about antimicrobial selection for patients with meningitis or bacteremia and INTERNIST-1, a system that assist with diagnosing complex problems in general internal medicine (Shortliffe, 1986). Health care workers may not always have the knowledge base to diagnose a nd treat every condition or situation encountered. Expert systems are used to close the gap in knowledge providing effective, efficient, andaccurate care. The concept of expert system is driven by the desire to improve patient care, reduce cost, and disseminate expert knowledge. Expert systems are used just as x-rays and lab set are obtained to improve the human understanding of a patients condition. The human memory has limitations. Expert systems can be the answer to eliminating a large number of preventable medical mistakes. This system can alert health care workers about drug interactions and allergies, and provide preferable form of treatment. Expert systems can assist in diagnostic suggestions, testing prompts, therapeutic protocols, and practice guidelines.The utilization of expert systems has an impact on the quality of care, economy, and medical education of staff. Expert systems, when used effectively can improve patient outcomes and decrement health care costs. Fewer mi stakes lead to lower financial expenditures and increased profits. Improved quality of care result in improved patient satisfaction that leads to increased reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. Expert systems can also decrease the variation in medical practice emphasizing standardized and evidence-based practice of care. Along with expert systems, decision help and decision support systems are used to improve patient care.The use of decision help and decision support systemsClinical decision aids help to identify solutions to clinical situations. Decision aids can be either paper-form or electronic. The electronic decision aids can be accessed via save media or the Internet. Decision aids are utilized to facilitate shared decisions between the patient and interdisciplinary team taking care of them. They help the patient to think about the multiple decisions they must make in the course of their treatment regimen. An example is the Ottawa Patient Decision Aid. This decision ai d helps to check out whether or not patients should seek antibiotics for bronchitis. Another example is a decision aid about whether or not someone should place his or her family in a long-term care facility for Alzheimers disease (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). A decision support system (DSS) is an interactive, flexible, and adaptable computer-based information system (CBIS), which was made to support decision-making as it relates to the solution of an individual problem.A clinical decision support system (CDSS) is an automated decision support system (DSS) thatmimics human decision making and can facilitate the clinical diagnostic process, promote the use of best practices, assist with the development and adherence of guidelines, facilitate processes for improvement of care, and prevent errors (Englebardt and Nelson, 2002, p. 116). Decision support systems utilize data and provide easy user interface that permit for the decision makers own insights. Four components of decision suppor t systems are user interface, model library, model tutor, and report writer. user interface makes communication between the executive and decision support system. Model library includes statistical, graphical, financial, and what if models. Model manager accesses ready(prenominal) models.Report Writer generates written output (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). Four types of CDSS used in patient care decision-making are systems that use alerts to respond to clinical data, systems respond to decisions to alter care by critiquing decisions, systems suggest interventions at the request of care providers, and systems conduct retrospective quality assurance reviews. Examples of nursing-specific decision support systems are nursing diagnosis systems such as the Computer Aided Nursing Diagnosis and Intervention (CANDI) system, care cookery systems such as the Urological Nursing Information System, symptom management systems such as the Cancer ail Decision Support system, and nursing education systems such as the Creighton Online Multiple Modular Expert System (Courtney, Alexander, and Demiris, 2008).The uses of technology for patient and client managementAs Information Technology continues to have more presence in health care, patients, physicians, and staff are benefiting from on-demand access to information anyplace, anytime it is needed. Advances in technology provide healthcare organizations the ability to improve the quality of patient care. An ultimate goal of using technology is to improve the quality of care patients receive (Become a Meaningful User of Health IT, 2010). Technology can be found patient homes, clinics, extended care facilities, and hospitals, to name just a few. As the number of chronic diseases continues to increase technologies like telemedicine and video-conferencing can improve the quality of life of patients with chronic conditions, and reduce costs caused by these illnesses (Finkelstein Friedman, 2000). improving quality, access, and clie nt management is done by enhancing theexchange of information between providers, institutions, and payers, allowing patients to receive uninterrupted tenaciousness of care.For the people living in cracker-barrel areas, the restrictions placed on services and specialists can be improved using technology (Smith, Bensink, Armfield, Stillman, Caffery, 2005). Telecommunications in the healthcare environment can provide patients and providers an opportunity to meet and even exceed expectations clients and the community have. A physician accessing a patients record from his home can provide treatment and develop a plan of care without sitting in his clinic to access the patients chart. Caregivers are no longer at the mercy of ongoing education provided at a variety of locations and cost. Learning management systems available via the Internet allow staff to review material and participate in competency testing. Tools are available through the advances in technology, which allow training b y developing simulations of patients used for assessment training in virtual environments, assessing cognitive skills of providers (McGowan, 2008).As technologies in healthcare continue to improve, caregivers and patients will continue to experience changes in many areas.Communication, teaching, and documenting will be affected, which change the way clinicians provide care and the way clients will receive it. Analysis of the effect of technology on health care and health status Prior to computers and digital equipment seen in todays healthcare facilities, most of what was done for patients was done manually. Manual processes could be time consuming and the opportunity for human error, which could affect the quality of care a patient received, was real. In a recent report from the Institute of medical care, it was stated that humans are inherently imperfect, and error is betray in medical car (Patton, 2001). Technologies affecting patient care and a persons health status include imp rovements to imaging systems, documentation solutions, and scheduling systems. Modern medicine relies on technological systems approach shot together the operating room, clinical laboratory, radiology department, and radiation oncology facility each incorporate interrelated networks of technologies (Patton, 2001). Surgeries that once required large incisions can be done through microscopic incisions resulting in shorter hospital stays. archean diagnosis and improved treatment plans have been inevitably affected by technology. Although technology allows healthcare to improve access to patientinformation allowing easier access that is current and up-to-date there are also disadvantages to this kind of access. Consumers and caregivers have large volumes of information, which can be accessed, not all of the information accessed will be still or accurate. Society must be aware that not all sites will be able to monitor and ensure information being accessed is credible it is inevitable some of the information provided and retrieved will be inaccurate.Worse yet information which are by law confidential, may also be accessed without the live with of the patient. In addition to the ability to monitor healthcare information, technology may also make it contend for physicians to practice under complete autonomy. With the increase in the complexity of technology, physicians must agree on how components relate to one another, also known as standards (Patton, 2001). As a result, some physicians can be seen resisting the word meaning of new processes, but with ongoing development of user-friendly systems, resistance can be overcome.ReferencesBecome a Meaningful User of Health IT. (2010). HHN Hospitals Health Networks, 84(12), 47. Borycki, E., Kushniruk, A., Brender, J. (2010). Theories, models and frameworks for diagnosing technology-induced error. Studies In Health Technology And Informatics, 160(Pt 1), 714-718.Finkelstein, J. J., Friedman, R. H. (2000). Potential eccentric of Telecommunication Technologies in the Management of Chronic Health Conditions. Disease Management Health Outcomes, 8(2), 57-63. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Courtney, K. L., Alexander, G. L., Demiris, G. (2008). Information technology from novice to expert implementation implications. Journal of Nursing Management, 16(6), 692-699. doi10.1111/j.1365-2834.2007.00829.x Englebardt, S. P. Nelson, R. (2002).Health care informatics. An interdisciplinary approach. St. Louis, MO Mosby Elsevier. Georgiou, A. (2002). Data information and knowledge the health informatics model and its role in evidence-based medicine. Journal Of Evaluation In Clinical Practice, 8(2), 127-130. McGowan, J. J. (2008). The Pervasiveness of Telemedicine Adoption With or Without a Research Base. JGIM Journal of General Internal Medicine, 23(4), 505-507.doi10.1007/s11606-008-0534-z Patton, G. (2001). The two-edged vane how technology shapes medical practice. Physician Executive, 27(2), 42-49. Shortliffe, E. H. (1986). Medical Expert Systems- Knowledge Tool for Physicians. 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