A tool for all nurses

Have you ever had a patient who spoke another language than yours? There is a solution it seems. There is an iPad app that you can download for free that will provide you with a communication tool for just those scenarios. It has functions to translate the medical jargon to the patient, and to translate their reply to you, the nurse. There are pictures as well as words to use as communication board of sorts. With nearly 16% of people in the United States speaking Spanish, these kind of apps can represent a way technology can facilitate communication between patients and nurses.

For app: http://www.pharmapps.com/universal-doctor-speaker-for-ipad/

Reference

Explordia. (2011). How many people in the world speak Spanish 2012? Retrieved from http://exploredia.com/how-many-people-in-the-world-speak-spanish-2011/

Patient-Nurse Communication

We all remember the class communication boards for patients with an inability to express themselves otherwise. The patient is asked to point or otherwise indicate an item on the board, allowing nursing staff to attend to their needs. While effective to some extent, these boards are limited by space and content. For a patient with intact faculties, being restricted to the items on such communication boards may be frustrating and disheartening. This is a situation in which technology may bring a huge change. Imagine being able to provide the patient with a tablet computer to use to communicate. They could type their messages, and the device could even read them out loud to the nurse. They could have an entire world of pictures to choose from if they cannot type. No longer limited, such technology could free someone from a failed body. A perfect example, Steven Hawking, world famous astrophycisist, who has communicated using a computer for years.

Great Website

http://www.art-of-patient-care.com/health-care-technology.html

The above is a link to a website that is incredibly useful for learning about health communication. The particular page I selected discusses several types of technology used in communication, the benefits, and the challenges they each possess. Something I had not previously considered is the impact on reimbursement when using technology. If a patient contacts a physician by email, and the result is a prescription being called in rather than an appointment, how does the physician get reimbursed? Then again, email may only be a more efficient method of communication than the traditional phone tag we play with doctor's offices.

Social Media, more than commentary

Social Media, an innovative source of healthcare communication.

Social media is something that has become ubiquitous in our society. We check Facebook on our cell phones, we Tweet our every thought, and are able to maintain a constant social presence in this manner. So why hasn’t healthcare picked up on the benefits of social media? Well, it seems they have. There are entire companies geared to providing healthcare social media management (Symplur, 2012). These companies can help physician practices set up social media sites and maintain them in compliance with HIPAA requirements for privacy.

So why social media for healthcare? Well, Rowley (2011) explains that social media in healthcare includes three specific forms of communication;

1.       Practice to public

a.       Well suited to social media

b.      Used to market and promote practice to attract clients

2.       Peer to Peer interaction

a.       Should not include protected information

b.      Used to promote and market practice to other doctors

3.       Physician to Patient

a.       Must be in a secure platform

b.      May convey healthcare education information

c.       May be used to attract clients to the practice

Symplur (2012) is a company that manages healthcare social media. Their website http://www.symplur.com/healthcare-social-media/ is full of great information on this topic. They state the benefits of healthcare social media as being used to educate patients, find patients, and collaborate with peers. An example of this could be a surgeon who does bariatric procedures has a social media page. On this page the doctor provides his own credentials, shares information about the surgeries, has links to additional sites with bariatric information, and provides a resource for contacting the physician. A patient seeing this could be influenced to choose this doctor, or another doctor looking for a surgeon for their patient may also be influenced.

Knowing how doctors can use such pages, how can the nurse? Could nurses set up social media pages for public health initiatives? Could they use social media to encourage healthy behaviors? What do you think?

References

Rowley, R. (2011). Social media for healthcare professionals. Retrieved from http://www.practicefusion.com/ehrbloggers/2011/09/social-media-for-healthcare-professionals.html

Symplur (2012). Healthcare social media. Retrieved from http://www.symplur.com/healthcare-social-media/

Text Messaging

We are all aware of the potential harm text messaging brings our patients by way of automobile accidents and other injuries. But consider that this form of communication may be a tool to improve the health of others as well. The following link is to a podcast that discusses the fascinating role of text messaging in communicating with pre and post-partum patients to improve outcomes. Communication between healthcare provider and patient can be facilitated in this manner, allowing improved health outcomes that would be otherwise difficult to achieve due to lack of resources and time.

http://www.healthliteracyoutloud.com/2011/04/26/health-literacy-out-loud-57-texting-important-health-messages/

Question for the class

Listen to the video and consider the question being asked. Feel free to reply with your thoughts on the topic.

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6234835&height=267&width=200

Using the iPad and Electronic Medical Records

Considering the ease of use and convenient size of the iPad, it seems to make sense that it would be well suited for the use of physicians and other care providers. Horowitz (2010) writes about the specific use of a cloud product in conjunction with the iPad that is being used for electronic medical records. This product, called Nimble EMR, offers physicians the opportunity to access medical records anywhere at any time and write orders for those patients. This technology has the ability to revolutionize communication in healthcare. Consider midnight calls to physicians, when you are the only source of information for that doctor on the other side of the phone. The Nimble EMR product could allow that physician to access the entire medical record from home and make fully informed decisions. It also removes the onus from the nurse to provide all background information in the few minutes he or she is on the phone. For more information on the Nimble and iPad check out this link: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/ClearPractice-Launches-Electronic-Medical-Records-App-on-iPad-703293/

Reference

Horowitz, B. (2010). ClearPractice launches electronic medical records app on iPad. Retrieved from http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/ClearPractice-Launches-Electronic-Medical-Records-App-on-iPad-703293/