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Writer's pictureDr. Mike Aldridge, RN

Can Technology Improve Patient Safety?


What if there was technology that could:


…tell a provider when a patient’s blood glucose dropped too low, triggering a phone call to the patient to make sure he or she was ok?

…tell providers that a patient is likely to develop a complication (like blood clots, overwhelming infection, or pneumonia) from his or illness before it happens, so preventive measures can be taken?

…predict which patients in an emergency department will need admission to the hospital so that the receiving hospital unit can free up a bed during busy times?

…tell patients sitting in the emergency department that their labs were back, they were next up to have their x-ray done, and their provider would be in to see them soon?

…we could predict which patients would likely be readmitted to the hospital in a short time before they were discharged home, so we could take steps to prevent a readmission?


Well, there is. This technology already exists!


I just returned from a three-day conference in Chicago where the focus was on technology in healthcare. Many technologies used in other settings can be – and are being - applied to the healthcare setting. For example, the technology that tells patients in the emergency department what is going on with their labs, imaging tests, and interactions with providers is simply a chatbot. Many industries already use this technology to tell consumers what is happening. For example, when I was waiting for a table for dinner one night I could see on my phone exactly how many people were in front of me and how my wait time was progressing. It made me much less frustrated to wait because I was armed with information – and I didn’t have to go to the host stand to find out because the information was accessible to me already.


I had three main thoughts as I listened to these presentations and talked with vendors:

1. Technology is great, but requires a connection between computer science people and healthcare people. Few of us in healthcare can build this stuff, and few people who can build it understand what we need and how we need it to work. This partnership is critical.


2. Many of these applications that are intended to improve outcomes for our patients require access to smartphones or the internet at home. We have to remember that many of our patients, especially those in rural areas or those who live in poverty, lack these two things reliably. Healthcare systems might have to provide some of these devices or access to the internet for all patients to benefit.


3. Managing a chronic illness – whether it is diabetes, hypertension, depression…happens on a daily basis in the home and community settings. It is unrealistic of us to think we can drastically improve outcomes when we focus mostly on what goes on during office visits and hospitals, as these happen much less often. The key to improving outcomes is to focus on what happens in the community and the home. Technology can help us bridge this gap and connect with patients in these settings.


There is definitely promise.


This week is also National Nurses Week, where we pay tribute to the nation’s nearly 4 million nurses. Happy Nurses Week to nurses everywhere!



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