Reaction Paper Analysis Essay Example

lift systems controlled remotely and other wireless technologies have significantly reduced injuries and stress for both patients and nurses.

Smart beds and computerized staff scheduling systems have enhanced general nursing efficiency. Smart beds, developed by Hill-Rom, collaborate with other point-of-care technology to collect and analyze patient data including weight, temperature, and head and neck elevation. Additionally, new staff scheduling systems enhance efficiency by allowing nurses to arrange coverage and schedule shifts remotely.

Patient and Staff Identification Systems

Identification systems for patients and staff have grown in significance within hospital settings due to instances of patient mix-ups and unauthorized individuals entering facilities or accessing patient records.

Bar codes, wristbands, and radio frequency identification (RFID) are used to track and identify patients in order to reduce errors and ensure the safety of the hospital population. Advanced technologies like palm vein technology, eye scans, and microchips have also been introduced to verify the identities of patients and healthcare professionals while preventing unauthorized access to patient files. As these advancements continue to emerge, nurses will play an evolving role in creating a safer and healthier future for both themselves and their patients.

The Patient Safety Imperative: Other Trends in Nursing

A strong demand for increased patient safety is being heard across all sectors. In 2004, patient safety became a top priority. While there has been a growing focus on patient safety since the Institute of Medicine's groundbreaking report in 1999 - which estimated that 44,000-98,000 individuals die annually due to medical errors - recent studies have highlighted nursing's crucial role as a safety net.

A new report emphasizes the significance of nurses in safeguarding patient safety. Nurses play a crucial role in our health and well-being,

as the quality of care they deliver often determines life or death outcomes. However, patient safety can be compromised due to excessive workloads. The report raises concerns about expecting nurses, who may already have an excess number of patients or work long hours, to identify 86% of medication errors made by physicians and pharmacists before harm occurs. It also expresses worries about achieving high levels of care under such demanding workloads.
Furthermore, the report unveils that heavier patient loads are linked to increased rates of infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, cardiac arrest, and mortality from various causes. Several factors within the typical nurse work environment contribute to errors that jeopardize patient safety. These include dealing with more seriously ill patients, inadequate orientation for new nurses, failures in communication, interruptions, and distractions.

The Institute of Medicine has released a new report that emphasizes the importance of improving nurses' work environment to promote patient safety and prevent healthcare errors. The report suggests implementing changes in nurse staffing levels and enforcing mandatory limits on nurses' work hours as part of a comprehensive plan to address concerns about patient safety. These changes aim to strengthen the work environment in four key areas: management, workforce deployment, work design, and organizational culture.

Escalating Healthcare Costs

Healthcare expenses are rapidly increasing at an alarming rate. Among developed countries, the United States devotes the highest amount of funds towards healthcare costs. In 2001, national healthcare spending exceeded $1.

In 2003, healthcare spending in the United States reached $1.8 trillion, which was an increase of 8.7% from the previous year and represented 14.1% of the country's GDP.

The growth rate of healthcare spending is five times higher than the inflation rate.

Unless there is a significant decrease in spending, health insurance premiums will continue to rise rapidly and there will be a rise in the number of uninsured Americans.

Projections suggest that healthcare spending will reach $2.6 trillion by 2010.

The rising costs of healthcare in the United States are largely due to the medical litigation system. This unregulated system causes expenses to soar, resulting in higher health insurance premiums, increased out-of-pocket payments for care, and elevated taxes. Neonatal nurses have observed a recent increase in premature births, a trend that is projected to continue into 2004. The surge in prematurity can be partly linked to the growing popularity of assisted reproductive technology (ART). In 2000, ART procedures accounted for 53% of twins, triplets, or multiples born compared to just 3% among the general population.

Twins and other multiple babies have a higher likelihood of being born prematurely or with low birth weight, necessitating neonatal intensive care. While the overall number of premature babies is increasing, each individual preemie is becoming smaller, referred to as "the incredible shrinking preemie." Neonatal healthcare professionals grapple with determining how small is too small despite the emotional challenges involved. This question has been asked for years without a definitive answer. Extensive research and experience in perinatology and neonatology indicate that preventing premature labor whenever possible is the optimal approach. In 2004, there will be a focus on preventing prematurity generally rather than solely relying on advanced medical techniques to save increasingly immature newborns.

The March of Dimes is launching a media campaign to advocate for the better health outcomes of babies born at full term. The campaign aims to reach both professionals and the

general public. It is important to mention that life expectancies are projected to increase, with an average of 77.2 years in 2001. This growth in the older population demographic contributes to the overall aging of the population.

The percentage of individuals aged 65 and above in the United States is currently 12%, which has increased from 8% fifty years ago. This number is expected to rise even more as the baby boomer generation turns sixty within two years. Therefore, it is important to focus on healthcare consumerism and "e-health" in 2004. Consumerism encompasses different preferences but primarily aims to protect consumer rights through measures like clear packaging, labeling, advertising, fair pricing, and improved safety standards.

The concept of consumerism in healthcare now includes individuals who use the Internet to seek information on health, illness, and healthcare providers. This is seen as a positive development in the industry. Consumerism also encompasses a type of health insurance plan called a consumer-directed health plan. These plans give employees more control over how their insurance funds are used and require them to pay more for healthcare expenses. The main goal of the consumerism movement is to reduce healthcare costs effectively.

Despite employers shifting more health insurance costs to employees, the expenses for health insurance continue to rise. It is uncertain if the majority of Americans will adopt healthier lifestyles in order to save on out-of-pocket medical expenses. Consequently, many Americans may choose to avoid spending money on healthcare whenever possible. Additionally, as we are currently experiencing epidemics of obesity and diabetes, there may be detrimental effects on our overall health.

However, there is hope that information technology will assist consumers in making better

healthcare choices and obtaining more value for their money. In fact, the use of healthcare websites by consumers significantly increased in 2002 as individuals sought more time to explore their options before making healthcare decisions.

Nevertheless, even with ample information about diseases, diagnostic tests, and treatment choices, individuals with a healthcare background may still struggle to determine what is truly necessary and what is additional when faced with a critical illness.

One way for the average lay consumer to achieve this is by using hospital and physician "report cards" and other quality rating systems. These systems help consumers decide where to invest their healthcare funds. It is uncertain whether people will approach healthcare services like they do when buying a car or television, or if they will continue relying on word of mouth, convenience, and comfort as in the past.

The consumerism movement in healthcare is closely associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). CAM includes various medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not part of conventional medicine. In 1999, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine became one of 27 institutes and centers under the US National Institutes of Health.

This year, about 4 out of 10 Americans will use CAM therapy to improve their health or combat illness. Many parents also turn to CAM for their children.

The majority of healthcare consumers will search the Internet for information on alternative therapies. Although there is scientific evidence for some CAM therapies, many questions remain unanswered. Nurses will not only be asked about complementary and alternative therapies, but they must also initiate conversations with patients about their use of CAM to address safety concerns. In the

near future, nurses may play a larger role in providing CAM in healthcare settings, including hospitals. The interest in CAM has prompted efforts to integrate it into the conventional healthcare system and has resulted in funding for clinical trials to determine its safety and effectiveness. Technological advancements have brought about both benefits and challenges. One example is a wireless, disposable endoscopy camera in a capsule that captures real-color images of the gastrointestinal tract as it moves through peristalsis.

Imagine an antibody-coated stent that stops the reoccurrence of coronary artery restenosis. Furthermore, visualise ongoing research on both an artificial pancreas and a robot capable of performing intricate surgery within an MRI chamber. Also, contemplate the potential scenario of delivering a baby via Cesarean section halfway so that the baby can be incubated and revived before clamping the umbilical cord. All of these advancements are made possible because there is a significant tumor developing on the baby's trachea. These remarkable accomplishments in modern medicine represent the positive aspects of high-tech innovation, which we simply cannot get enough of.

Although healthcare has been slow to adopt information technology, hospitals continue to heavily rely on paper unlike other industries that readily embrace new technology for diagnostic and treatment purposes. However, this is expected to change soon as the US Department of Health and Human Services is developing a standardized electronic health record model, which will be ready this year. By 2004, more nurses will have the opportunity to work with new information technology systems such as computerized provider order entry and barcode-enabled point-of-care medication management. The goal of these systems is to improve efficiency and reduce errors in clinical settings.

By the

end of 2003, the expectation was that handwritten prescribing would be replaced by computerized provider or physician order entry systems. At the same time, barcode medication management systems were created to prevent medication administration errors. These advancements in technology are now being implemented in many hospitals across the country. Additionally, there has been an increase in the availability of web-based nursing degrees, with online advanced degree programs in nursing becoming more common in recent years.

There are several degree options available for nurses looking to further their education. These options include obtaining an RN to BSN degree, an RN (bridge) to MSN degree, or an MSN in various clinical or non-clinical advanced practice majors. For those who already hold a master's degree, there are also online post-master's certificate programs available to become a nurse practitioner. Some of these programs are entirely web-based and utilize online lectures, libraries, discussion groups, conferencing, and email for communication between instructors and students. Others combine online coursework with occasional site visits for laboratory or clinical practice.

Some online nursing degree programs are self-paced (asynchronous), while others follow a synchronous format, where all students participate simultaneously. Currently, there is a lack of standardization in these programs, with various combinations of online coursework and campus attendance requirements. Initially, when nursing degree programs were introduced online in the late 1990s, concerns arose about the suitability of Internet education for a practice-oriented discipline like nursing. There were also doubts about maintaining the same high standards as traditional classroom learning. However, since then, these programs have seen impressive growth, with both students and faculty expressing satisfaction with distance learning in nursing. Although uncertainties remain regarding

the quality of the curriculum, clinical standards, accreditation, and jurisdiction issues, it is evident that online nursing degree programs are here to stay. Lastly, it is noteworthy that heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes are responsible for a combined total of 72% of all deaths in the United States.

These and countless other conditions, both preventable and non-preventable (such as asthma, arthritis, stroke, kidney disease, and more), represent the daily reality for millions of Americans living with chronic diseases. Managing chronic diseases becomes even more challenging when complicated by comorbidities like obesity and hypertension. While chronic diseases are prevalent and costly, they are also avoidable. As the elderly population grows, chronic diseases may surpass acute illnesses as our primary healthcare concern. Preventing chronic diseases, managing their complications, and optimizing disease management require a different healthcare approach than what we are accustomed to; we must adapt accordingly. To effectively combat chronic diseases for future generations, we must intensify our efforts in assisting individuals of all ages in avoiding known risk factors like tobacco use and promoting healthy lifestyles including balanced diets, regular exercise, and stress management.