Impact of Technology on Hypertension Management and Prevention
Modern technologies and medical tools and equipment have become primary parts of the medical care systems. Most medical care units, including delivery and mental health departments, utilize modern medical tools and equipment to improve the patients’ delivery and mental health conditions (Hirschtritt & Insel, 2018). Besides, primary caregivers use these technologies to enlarge their services and reach out to postpartum disorder (PPD) mothers staying in locations with insufficient caregivers or rural areas. With technological assistance, nurses and other healthcare professionals can reach hard-to-reach groups following the stigma of PPD or geographical hurdles. Also, certain medical tools and equipment and technologies like phone applications are less expensive and encourage patient involvement in their care compared to traditional care.
Furthermore, modern medical tools and apps provide convenience. They enable PPD patients to access care anytime, are more precise, and save time and care expenses. Nonetheless, there are issues with the applications of these medical tools and technologies as with any other technology type. Some critical issues include various ethical concerns, maintaining privacy, and implementation and maintenance costs. Telemedicine, mobile applications, and Internet-based support group technologies have the potential to help advance mental condition care despite all these.
Modern medical tools and technologies are part of healthcare systems. Healthcare facilities and providers can accrue immense benefits by integrating these technologies. There is a need to understand the current and emerging medical tools and technologies that influence care quality to practice nursing in dynamic environments efficiently. Nevertheless, it is critical to comprehend the elements that result in unfavorable caregiver-patient ratios and understaffed hospitals. Therefore, this assessment discusses the effects of various medical tools and technologies in healthcare, such as telemedicine, mobile applications, and Internet-based support groups technologies, and whether they can be applied to mitigate and control PPD and related mental health issues.
Telemedicine and Mobile Applications Technology
Phone apps such as telemedicine (telehealth/eHealth) are good examples of technologies utilized in PPD care. There are many phone applications tailored to assist PPD patients. These applications focus on anxiety, stress, trauma, and depression. The mobile apps utilize the gadgets’ intrinsic sensors to trail behavior trends of PPD mothers, enabling them to take appropriate interventions before a crisis. Some applications have calming and soothing posts and messages (Torous & Roberts, 2017). Other apps can spontaneously administer or remind patients to take their medications or reach out to caregivers if their attention is required. Besides, phone apps enable PPD patients who are reluctant to visit hospitals to get assistance online, usually incognito. The mothers can also study and educate themselves more about PPD and other mental health conditions using their phone apps.
Generally, mobile apps assist PPD mothers in getting more engaged and taking charge of their care. Primary caregivers, counselors, and mental health providers also utilize phone devices to check patients’ treatment progress and how they follow the care and medication plan without meeting them one-on-one (Hirschtritt & Insel, 2018). Mobile devices have revolutionized PPD care provision for patients and caregivers. Healthcare providers can reach their patients remotely through telehealth. Telehealth ensures that the healthcare environment response and meetings are faster. The primary caregivers can get all the details they require to attend to the PPD mothers more easily and quickly. However, it is worth noting that information and telemedicine tools face licensure, reimbursement, and acceptance issues. Besides, primary caregivers can abuse the opportunities and utilize their mobile devices to do their activities, placing PPD patients at risk.
Internet-based support sites
Internet-based support platform technology is another tool often utilized in PPD care. Internet-based support sites such as Big White Wall play integral roles in caring for PPD mothers, especially patients who can’t access care services during normal working hours or prefer PPD treatment access incognito. Also, these platforms offer educational opportunities and resources for members to interact and talk to each other online (Hirschtritt & Insel, 2018). Another technology tool usually utilized by PPD mothers is eHealth. This technology enables PPD patients to consult their primary caregivers, such as nurses and doctors, via video or mobile chats. EHealth’s advantages are that it minimizes PPD medication expenses and advances mental health services’ access for patients who can’t physically visit hospitals to meet healthcare providers (Myers, 2019). Lastly, virtuality is quickly becoming vital in the mental health field, even though it is a comparatively new technology in this area. Caregivers can utilize virtual reality gadgets and devices to desensitize people suffering from PPD and other post-traumatic stress disorders. The virtuality reality headsets develop the patients’ individual triggers, which motivate them to create coping mechanisms. Also, people struggling with depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders can use virtual reality to develop coping mechanisms.
How Care Coordination and Utilization of Community Resources Can Be Used to Address the Health Problem
Collaboration is the working together of multidisciplinary teams towards attaining common goals. In healthcare, teamwork or partnership is critical in virtually all care aspects. There is a need for teamwork among the nurse managers and nurses and between interdisciplinary teams when integrating medical tools and technologies. Integrating and using the technologies such as telemedicine will be much easier when primary stakeholders partner with each other during technology adoption. Primary caregivers such as nurses, doctors, and other healthcare practitioners can also reach more people in their homes or remote areas, thus minimizing the number of hospitalization in the healthcare facilities. Technology integration will be safer, faster, and easier, and the transformation will be easier to navigate through with excellent vertical and horizontal teamwork.
In mental health and PPD care, care coordination involves assisting PPD patients in accessing various care services and resources to advance their treatment and recovery results, enabling them to recover or heal faster (Storm et al., 2019). It involves promoting teamwork among the patients, their loved ones, primary caregivers, and other important stakeholders in the care process. The primary care coordination goal is to enhance PPD mothers’ functioning and health through medical treatments and therapies customized to meet their needs. Care coordination can be utilized for PPD mothers living in hospital environments because of complicated physical and psychological medical complications. This is major because PPD patients are more likely to be overlooked because they have several caregivers and healthcare professionals involved in their mental health needs. Care coordination should also integrate interprofessional teams, psychosocial support providers, and self-management (Storm et al.,2019). Care coordination minimizes medication administration errors because the care team collaborates with inpatient treatment. It fosters best care results, improves quality, promotes patient safety and satisfaction, and meets various patient-based care elements.
Storm et al. (2019), primary caregivers must ensure that the treatment is patient-based, concentrated on patient healing, and respects the patients’ values to improve the care coordination effectiveness in caring for PPD people. Storm et al. (2019) also argued that healthcare providers should build therapeutic connections that help handle the patients’ all-inclusive needs and promote successful collaboration with all the necessary treatment stakeholders. Storm et al. (2019) noted that the care team must proactively involve patients’ family members and ensure the treatments are socially holistic. The care team must promote a sense of responsibility and ownership for players involved in caring for the patients through coordinated care and service delivery.
In PPD care, community resources refer to community assets that help fulfill the needs of PPD mothers (Castillo et al., 2019). Community resources, like treatment coordination and technologies, are vital in meeting the PPD mothers’ needs. Incorporating mental care services into communities helps improve medication compliance, availability, affordability, scalability, and acceptability. Besides, community services increase the probability of accomplishing positive care results. Community resources also play important roles in minimizing discrimination and stigma among PPD mothers, decreasing avoidable readmissions and hospitalization, mitigating mental health conditions, raising mental care awareness, and reinforcing healing and inclusion. Castillo et al. (2019) argued that community services purposed to assist PPD people should majorly concentrate on; developing community programs and initiatives for PPD patients, reinforcing community-oriented rehabilitation, creating a family and peer support teams, promoting mental health condition awareness, and training primary caregivers on early PPD identification and mental health support provision. The community resources will help detect PPD early, minimize care costs, prevent avoidable readmissions and hospitalization and foster social inclusion.
State Board Nursing, Organizational, Or Governmental Policies Associated with Health Technology, Care Coordination, And Community Resources
One important factor that greatly affects nurse turnover is the staffing ratio of registered nurses. Nurses’ shortage leads to higher mortalities, morbidities, and medication administration errors (MAEs). The registered nurses experience burnout and dissatisfaction in hospitals with adequate patient-nurse ratios. Several states in the U.S, such as California, are now enacting policies, regulations, and laws to limit the patient-nurse ratio. Certified nurses are the only ones allowed to work in Georgia. The role of the state nursing board is emphasized. Only registered nurses are allowed to treat patients in hospitals. The nursing board prosecutes infection of care standards (the rules and regulations).
The federal government has made sure that all Americans acquire healthcare services by enacting various medical acts such as Medicaid coverage and Obamacare (Affordable Care Act/ACA) (Bombard et al., 2018). People with Medicaid medical coverage can minimize their healthcare expenses and costs during PPD treatments. This healthcare insurance relieves PPD patients of some financial burdens because it covers a large part of treatment costs. ACA ensures that PPD patients access quality healthcare even if they are poor.
There may be monetary and other consequences for those who break the rules. The HIPAA has increased the significance of safeguarding patients’ personal information. A patient’s permission is required before their medical records can be released. Medical providers must educate their patients to deliver the most effective therapy for hypertension (Cronce et al., 2018). As a matter of nursing ethics, all participants in the care of patients with hypertension must be unrestricted. With the help of modern tools, patients might actively participate in their medical decisions. Care alternatives would prioritize patients’ health and happiness. It is in everyone’s best interest for healthcare providers to have open lines of communication with their patients.
Patients are more likely to feel comfortable discussing their health-related wants, needs, and records with doctors and other medical staff who adhere to HIPPA’s strict privacy and security regulations. By making an accurate diagnosis, doctors and nurses may better tailor their care to the needs of their patients. In the case of readmission, patients will not incur any additional costs.
Part 2: Report On My Experience with Mrs. Dawson During the Practicum Hours
During my practicum, I interacted with Mrs. Dawson, who is receiving mental health services because of her PPD condition. Mrs. Dawson did not have any vital signs monitored. She decided to use mobile applications to monitor and control her health condition. According to Mrs. Dawson, the app uses her phone sensors to monitor her actions and alert her of potential problems in advance. The app can send out automatic notifications to caretakers or prescription reminders to her. Mrs. Dawson loved the mobile app and noted that she benefitted from telehealth services. Rather than going into the office, Mrs. Dawson could speak with her caregivers over the phone or via video chat (Myers, 2019). Mrs. Dawson also shared her perspectives on managing her condition. She agreed that mental health services are now more accessible and affordable thanks to technological advancements, despite privacy, cost, and ethical concerns. Improvements in patient outcomes can be directly attributed to increased patient participation.
Additionally, the patient mentioned therapeutic programs that aided in her recovery. Sometimes, a rural patient can’t get to the clinic as frequently as she would like for medical care. Thankfully, Mrs. Dawson could get help thanks to community-based services. Mrs. Dawson cited participation in a support group as a beneficial aspect of care. By connecting with people going through a similar experience, they can provide each other emotional and practical support. One of the benefits of joining a support group is the opportunity to interact with medical professionals in a safe and supportive environment. By providing spiritual, emotional, and social support, religious communities have also aided in treating those afflicted with illness. Mrs. Dawson worries about her privacy being compromised by introducing new technologies, but regulations like the HIPAA Privacy Rule have helped alleviate such concerns. The statute prohibits health care providers from discussing their patients’ medical histories (Edemekong, Annamaraju, & Haydel, 2021). Integrating technology, care coordination, and human resources are essential to providing quality patient care, and physicians and nurses are obligated by an ethical code that guides them in doing so.
References
Bombard, Y., Baker, G. R., Orlando, E., Fancott, C., Bhatia, P., Casalino, S., Onate, K., Denis, J. L., & Pomey, M. P. (2018). Engaging patients to improve quality of care: a systematic review. Implementation science: IS, 13(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-018-0784-z
Castillo, E. G., Ijadi-Maghsoodi, R., Shadravan, S., Moore, E., Mensah, M. O., Docherty, M., … & Wells, K. B. (2019). Community interventions to promote mental health and social equity. Current psychiatry reports, 21(5), 1-14.
Cronce, J. M., Toomey, T. L., Lenk, K., Nelson, T. F., Kilmer, J. R., & Larimer, M. E. (2018). NIAAA’s College Alcohol Intervention Matrix. Alcohol research: current reviews, 39(1), 43–47.
Edemekong, P., Annamaraju, P., & Haydel, M. (2021). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. StatPearls.
Hirschtritt, M. E., & Insel, T. R. (2018). Digital technologies in psychiatry: present and future. Focus, 16(3), 251-258.
Myers, C. R. (2019). Using telehealth to remediate rural mental health and healthcare disparities. Issues in mental health nursing, 40(3), 233-239.
Storm, M., Husebø, A. M. L., Thomas, E. C., Elwyn, G., & Zisman-Ilani, Y. (2019). Coordinating mental health Services for People with serious mental illness: a scoping review of transitions from a psychiatric hospital to community. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 46(3), 352-367.
Torous, J., & Roberts, L. W. (2017). Needed innovation in digital health and smartphone applications for mental health: transparency and trust. JAMA psychiatry, 74(5), 437-438.
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