Computers in the Workplace: Healthcare IT

 

"Health IT is more complex than Rocket Science 🚀" - Epic

Using computers in healthcare is essential. Computers allow clinicians to document and research patient information, complete diagnoses, and administer medications. In addition to clinicians, some employees also use computers for other roles such as IT, finance, HR, etc. Employees in this environment need to be computer literate because all of the documentation about patients is on the computer. For example, in the majority of healthcare organizations around the world, electronic medical records are accessed by computers. If, let’s say, a nurse or doctor were not computer literate, how would they be able to document patient diagnoses, symptoms, and assessments? All clinicians need to have a basic understanding of computer functions. On the administrative end, it’s also vital for users to be computer literate because all documents and employee information are primarily stored on computers. Lately, the trends of computing have significantly impacted me personally with how I want my career to be in the future. For example, years ago, I knew I wanted to be in some sort of IT field but wasn’t specific about which one. The more I learned the various avenues of IT, the more I could narrow down to what I enjoyed. Due to a rise in AI, I think it’s essential for any of us in IT to learn some sort of skill that will benefit any organization focusing on AI. The more AI becomes popular, the more each organization will require users to know how to manage and manipulate that information to continue moving forward. In terms of hardware evolution, it is already impacting healthcare.

An example is robotic surgery, where a robot has taken place for additional team members in the OR. Also, due to its flexibility, doctors can be more comfortable sitting while performing surgeries, reducing the need to open up a patient. The changes in operating systems are also changing constantly. We see that even using any Microsoft Office applications, AI is embedded in these applications to allow users more flexibility and easier use of the programs. Regarding networking, a faster network speeds up communication between clinicians, patients, and coworkers. In the future, they may even be able to use virtual reality devices to view surgeries in other parts of the country without leaving the comfort of their home.

Professor Flores mentioned: What are the ways computers can help you become more effective with your day-to-day activities?

In my day-to-day life I use computers not only to organize all my tasks for work but my to-do’s for daily living. For example, medical appointments, personal appointments, and shopping lists can all be stored and organized within a computer and mobile device for easy access. Currently, I am using a spreadsheet to plan and organize my vacations. It makes it easier to write these down on a computer because I can move the cells around and place them in the order that works best for me.

Alyssa S mentioned to incorporate integration of AI into healthcare IT

One example I can think of is the automation of hendrich’s score. When a patient falls during their stay, a nurse documents what their score is with the use of this tool. My organization has implemented the automation of it so it calculator the score every 4 hours based on previous assessments and making it easy for the nurse to modify or save the automated score.

References:

• Patterson, B. W., Repplinger, M. D., Pulia, M. S., Batt, R. J., Svenson, J. E., Trinh, A., Mendonça, E. A., Smith, M. A., Hamedani, A. G., & Shah, M. N. (2018). Using the Hendrich II Inpatient Fall Risk Screen to Predict Outpatient Falls After Emergency Department Visits. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 66(4), 760–765. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15299