This is an issue brief.
New health care innovations offer the advanced registered nurse an opportunity to apply emerging technologies in practice to improve quality and patient outcomes. For this assignment, research an emerging health care technology that you think has the potential to overcome current or emerging barriers to care.

Write a 500-word brief that provides an overview of the technology, its purpose, and how it would function in a health care setting, including any ethical or legal issues that would accompany the incorporation of the technology. Discuss how this technology could improve access to care and promote patient safety and quality.

Refer to the Topic 6 materials for samples and resources to help you construct your brief.

You are required to cite three to five sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.  Emerging Technology Brief Discussion Paper

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.

Emerging Technology Brief

Overview of the technology, its purpose, and how it would function in a health care setting, including any ethical or legal issues that would accompany the incorporation of the technology.

The emerging technology has been identified as wearable heath technologies (also known as smart medical devices) that enable patients to automatically transmit their health information to medical personnel who can monitor the information and present recommendations. Galvanized by the increasing medical staff shortages, concerns about health care access, and public demand to personally monitor health, use of wearable health technologies has become increasingly prevalent. These technologies include any electronic devices that can be worn and designed to collect personal health data that could include heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose and so on (Lau & Kuziemsky, 2016). Some of the simplest wearable health technologies are smart watches used as fitness trackers since they are equipped with sensors that keep track of the user’s heart rate and physical activity. The information collected by the technological is submitted to a database where medical personnel can track the information and offer recommendations on how to improve the user’s wellness and health. In fact, wearable technologies are increasingly being used to maintain health and prevent diseases as well as for disease and patient management. Overall, wearable technologies have enabled proactive health care by allowing individual patients to work in concert medical personnel to set personal wellness and health goals, chart progress, and challenge themselves to improve and reach higher standards (Lau & Kuziemsky, 2016).

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Although wearable health technologies directly impact clinical decision-making even as they reduce care costs and improve care quality, they present some ethical concerns. Firstly, there are concerns about disclosure of data, particularly the nature of data consent and authorizations. These technologies make use of third-party applications that gather and store the health vitals, and there is a real concern that users may not be aware of who uses the information and how it is used. Secondly, there are concerns that the data could be sold, although the users have an expectation of anonymity and privacy. The data could be sold to health analytics companies or used for targeted ads about health care products. Finally, they present concerns about cybersecurity as they have lax cybersecurity protocols that could allow for breaches of sensitive personal information. This is a real concern when users connected to unsecured networks or other platforms and applications without sufficient data protections (Davis & LaCour, 2014).

Discuss how this technology could improve access to care and promote patient safety and quality.

Wearable health technologies can improve access to care and promote patient safety and quality. Firstly, the technologies leverage internet and communication technologies to allow for remote contact between patients and medical personnel so that they do not have to be in close physical proximity. This reduces the need for travel and keeping appointments. Besides that, it ensures that patients in remote locations without physical access to medical facilities can keep in close contact with medical personnel. Secondly, they allow for speedy response to health concerns as the patient is continuously monitored even when at home so that health concerns can be identified and addressed before they escalate and become life threatening or get out of control. Thirdly, they have significant cost benefits as patients are able to access health care services without having to spend time and money on visiting a medical facility. Fourthly, they can help in improving patient safety and care quality by tracking health data and providing comprehensive information that translate into a better awareness of the patient’s health condition. Finally, the technologies have leveraged internet capabilities to allow for faster transfer of information thereby enabling efficient and integrated care delivery (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018).

References

Davis, N. & LaCour, M. (2014). Health information technology (3^rd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Lau, F. & Kuziemsky, C. (2016). Handbook of EHealth Evaluation: An Evidence-Based Approach. University of Victoria.

McGonigle, D. & Mastrian, K. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4^th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Emerging Technology Brief Discussion Paper