Week 6: Digital Medicine: Applications and Technology Advancement
Gone are the days in which patients must come to a healthcare facility to monitor and track all follow-up or routine care. Whether it is tracking blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, blood sugar levels, activity levels, or even oxygen levels, technology has advanced the way in which healthcare is delivered, tracked, and monitored. Additionally, patients may even find themselves in front of a computer screen or mobile device to speak with a provider, versus sitting in an office.
These advancements have addressed a practice gap and improve patient care by enhancing accessibility and availability. However, might these advancements also hinder patient care or healthcare delivery? What are the implications of these advancements, and what barriers might they present to nursing practice?
This week, you will explore and analyze digital medicine. You will consider potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital medicine, as well as explore potential implementation barriers with digital medicine, while suggesting strategies to overcome these barriers.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Evaluate impact of COVID-19 on digital medicine
- Analyze how wearables, devices, and telehealth contribute to Big Data
- Analyze implementation barriers for digital medicine in healthcare organizations and nursing practice
- Recommend strategies for addressing implementation barriers for digital medicine
- Justify implementation strategies to a nursing informatics project*
- Analyze implementation and progress tracking of a nursing informatics project*
- Synthesize lessons learned from implementing a nursing informatics project*
* Assigned in Week 6 of Module 3 and submitted in Week 9 of Module 4
Learning Resources
Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)
Optional Resources (click to expand/reduce)
Discussion: Digital Medicine: Mobile Devices, Wearables, Telehealth, Telemedicine – The Impact of COVID-19 on Technology Advances
- Preparing for her run, Susan tightened her fitness watch on her wrist. After experiencing and having received treatment for a heart arrhythmia, Susan was encouraged to wear the watch that not only would alert her if she experienced an irregular heartbeat, but the device would also report the findings to her medical team. Susan felt comfortable going on her run, knowing her device would monitor her heart.
Digital medicine has changed how patients monitor their health. These advancements have allowed patients to take an active role with increased control and agency over their healthcare and well-being. Digital medicine has also allowed patients to communicate with healthcare providers in different ways that help to facilitate ongoing, continuous, and real-time conversations that lead to data-informed treatment approaches and healthcare plans. Thus, these advancements have shifted and changed how healthcare is offered and practiced both for the patient and healthcare provider.
For this Discussion, you will explore the use of digital medicine in healthcare organizations and nursing practice. Reflect on the use, implementation, and the barriers for digital medicine and consider how these devices have changed, or will continue to change, healthcare organizations and nursing practice.
To Prepare
- Review the Learning Resources associated with digital medicine.
- Consider the use, implementation, and barriers of digital medicine for healthcare organizations and nursing practice.
By Day 3 of Week 6
Post a cohesive response to the following:
- Explain whether COVID-19 has impacted the use or non-use of digital medicine. Be specific.
- Explain how wearables, devices, and telehealth may contribute to Big Data.
- What are some of the challenges you might have faced during implementation of digital medicine in your healthcare organization or nursing practice?
- What are some of the challenges identified in the “Turning the Body Into a Wire” article by Sen, Maity, & Das (2020)?
- Recommend at least two strategies for overcoming these challenges/barriers now and in the future. Be specific and provide examples.
By Day 5 of Week 6
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days. Expand upon your colleague’s posting or offer an alternative perspective on the use of digital medicine.
