Peers Responses
Healthcare Informatics
substantially respond to at two other student posts that prompts further input or provides another viewpoint. Describe a situation from your professional experience that backs up your viewpoint and discuss the social, moral, political and economic factors impacting your position. add value to the discussion, and apply ideas, insights, or concepts from scholarly sources, such as: journal articles, assigned readings, textbook material, lectures, course materials, or authoritative websites. For specific details and criteria, refer to the discussion rubric in the Menu (⋮) or in the Course Overview Weekly Discussion Guidelines.
1st peer post:
Piper Sines
As a nurse in the ICU, a human-technology interface that I frequently use is the clinical monitor. Every ICU patient is hooked up to the monitor so the nurses can watch their vital signs. The monitor has ports to plug in different devices that measure vital signs, such as the blood pressure cuff, pulse ox, ECG, temperature probe, and various hemodynamic monitoring devices. The monitor is essential in the intensive care setting to ensure that patients remain stable. However, this technology needs improvement because the constant alarming of clinical monitors causes alarm fatigue. “Alarm fatigue, a desensitization caused by excessive alarms, causes nurses to turn off or mute alarms and slowing their response times because a large number of nonactionable alarms causes nurses to lose trust in the alarms” (Wang et al., 2023, p. 5532).
The clinical monitor interface should be improved to alleviate alarm fatigue and improve patient safety. Nurses could change clinical parameters for alarms based on each individual patient’s needs. Nurses could also wear a smart device that links to the monitor that personally notifies the nurse when there is an alarm. If the nurse is notified with a wearable device, they would be less likely to miss a life-saving alarm. Another solution would be to have flashing lights outside of the patient rooms to notify nurses in case noise pollution prevents them from hearing the alarm. Alarm fatigue is a serious problem that causes nurses to miss critical changes in patients, and a solution needs to be found.
References
Wang, L., He, W., Chen, Y., Wu, Q., Du, X., Li, Q., & Song, C. (2023). Intensive care unit nurses’ perceptions and practices regarding clinical alarms: A descriptive study. Nursing Open, 10(8), 5531–5540. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1792
2nd peer post:
Dianna Miller
Describe a human-technology interface that you have encountered in healthcare that you think needs improving.
In labor and delivery, I believe the fetal monitoring system we have developed over the years is something that could use improving. Miesnik (2002) states, “The use of technology is not benign. As with any health care intervention, there are associated risks and benefits. The practitioner needs to constantly consider the benefits of the technology versus the naturalistic birth experience. The use of technology should optimize birth outcomes while maintaining a balance that provides for the best possible human birth experience.”
2. Describe what you would specifically like to see changed about this technology and why?
I believe that fetal monitoring in the process of labor and delivery is very important as it helps to ensure a safe delivery of the baby and is a direct access to see if the babies are in distress while still int he womb. However, in a hospital setting we seem to feel the need to continuously monitor the patients. A lot of times this decreases the patient’s mobility, and a lot of time hinders movement during the delivery process which can help patients get the baby in the correct position for delivery. What I have seen some facilities do is in the early stages of labor do intermittent monitoring which allows the patients frequent mobility and allows for an easier transition through labor.
Miesnik, S., (2002). Technology in the birthing room. Nurse Clinical North American Journal 37(4). 781-793. DOI: 10.1016/s0029-6465(02)00025-7