Analysis

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE 1

TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE 2

Technology in Healthcare

Raven Jinks

Chamberlain University

Technology in Healthcare

The healthcare industry has expanded its application of the latest technologies in the provision of services to clients. The advancement of technology is crucial to the application of new trends in the healthcare sector. One of the technologies that have improved the performance of many industries is artificial intelligence (AI). The application of AI in the healthcare setting has augmented the performance of healthcare practitioners. In the past, AI was mostly applied in clinical-based activities. In this regard, AI was applied in activities, such as coordination of care, optimization of workflow, and practice of precision medicine. However, the recent application of AI has incorporated the enhancement of financial workflows. Application of the technology in financial workflows at a healthcare setting is anticipated to improve the revenue recycle management (RCM), which is currently a challenge to many organizations since a majority of people opt for value-based care models.

One of the benefits of AI in the financial workflows of a health institution is data mining. In the past, financial workers in healthcare organizations were faced with issues concerned with the identification of how long a patient would take to clear his or her medical fees. Such processes took much time because of the logistics involved in an industry where fast services are required to ensure life is not lost because of flimsy technicalities. The application of AI in the financial workflows of a hospital will help the staff because they will not have to analyze data and provide immediate proposals for solutions (Shabaz, Gao, Zhai, Shahzad, & Hu, 2019). On this note, the introduction of new technology will enhance service delivery and ensure that patients are provided with timely high-quality services that will enhance achievement of desirable outcomes.

The introduction of new technologies presents many opportunities for healthcare practitioners. For example, new technologies will help improve the working condition of nurses. Pithily, when the working conditions of nurses are improved, they are motivated to provide patients with high-quality services. Furthermore, better working conditions mean that the health care practitioners will not suffer from some of the negative effects associated with fatigue and working for long hours. The effects result in mistakes when nurses administer their duties and endanger the lives of patients (Chakravorty, Jha, & Barthwal, 2018). Moreover, a topic that involves the introduction of new technologies in the nurses’ workplace should be considered an important issue because it would affect the way they approach their duties.

The positive implications associated with the introduction of new technologies in the workplace affect all stakeholders. It is imperative to note that the patients will benefit from enhanced service delivery. Precisely, new technologies in the workplace indicate that medical practitioners will be able to diagnose and provide the ideal treatment for their ailments effectively and efficiently. Besides, patients will be offered convenience because of the speedy delivery of services. When the practitioners are offered technology such as automation of data analysis and mining, they are able to provide the needed services because of easier documentation. For example, the introduction of Electronic Health Records has been influential because it ensures that the patient does not have to wait for communication between the last and current physician to confirm factors such as the medications a patient should not be given because they might interfere with previous drugs (Gavurova, Balloni, Tarhanicova, & Kovac, 2018). Hence, technology will provide an ideal environment for service delivery to patients.

What is more, nurses will benefit from the introduction of new technologies because of the intricacies of the details they handle. Nurses need adequate information to address serious and sensitive issues that concern the well-being of patients. For instance, there are times when a doctor is not around and the nurse has to deal with a patient that requires immediate assistance. With ideal technologies, the doctor can give systematic instructions to the nurse to help resolve an issue. Accordingly, it is integral to have technologies that aid in communication because an emergency case needs fast and efficient communication technologies that are not subject to constant disruptions. Furthermore, nurses who play critical roles in the provision of care need to be provided with the ideal technologies that are applicable in a hospital setting. Various technologies provide nurses with ideal support to delegate their duties (Gavurova et al., 2018). For instance, automated medicine dispensers save the nurses time, because they only need to transfer the medicine to the patients.

Technologies have some shortcomings in a hospital setup. For example, the overreliance of automation may backfire if, in the absence of people to monitor and control the processes, there are possibilities that errors may occur. Markedly, the machines might breakdown or malfunction, which affects the wellbeing of patients. Hence, major functionalities of a healthcare institution should be delegated to humans because they have better judgment. Furthermore, well-trained people are not likely to make mistakes that could result in dire consequences if they are in good control of a situation and are not affected by environmental factors. For this reason, an organization should ensure that an efficient workforce backs up the incorporation of technologies (Shahbaz et al., 2019). Additionally, training is crucial since it ensures that the patients and the heath care providers are protected from any incidents that may result in injury or fatality when machines in the hospital malfunction.

The incorporation of machines in health institutions may be expensive. Nonetheless, such developments could result in the provision of high-quality services to the patient. Likewise, individuals responsible for handling the new equipment should be trained, which means that there would be additional costs. Thus, although there are numerous benefits associated with the introduction of new technologies in the health industries, some factors may hinder some institutions from adopting new developments in the sector.

A cost-benefit analysis of the introduction of new technologies in the market indicates that the benefits outweigh the costs. Notably, some of the technologies introduced reduce nurses’ direct contact with the patients and affect the services and medications offered; therefore, they do not pose any threat to the clients. Nonetheless, their contributions to health care institution have direct benefits to the patients. Besides, technologies ensure that the people that provide them with essential services work in a condition that does not deter them from performing their jobs. Therefore, the automation and introduction of AI will have a positive impact on the healthcare system.

References

Chakravorty, T., Jha, K., & Barthwal, S. (2018). Digital technologies as enablers of care-quality and performance: A conceptual review of hospital supply chain network. IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management, 15(3), 7-25.

Gavurová, B., Balloni, A. J., Tarhaničová, M., & Kováč, V. (2018). Information and communication technology in the role of information system of healthcare facility in the Slovak Republic. Economies, 6(3) doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/economies6030047.

Shahbaz, M., Gao, C., Zhai, L., Shahzad, F., & Hu, Y. (2019). Investigating the adoption of big data analytics in healthcare: The moderating role of resistance to change. Journal of Big Data, 6(1), 1-20.