Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings.

Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings., ,This week, we will discuss personal communication devices and their use in healthcare. As we focus on this topic, please address the questions below in the discussion.Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings.,How can the use of the nurse’s personal communication device(s) impact patient care positively and/or negatively?,What are the ethical and legal implications of the use of personal devices?,What does the professional literature say about how communication devices can support safe nursing practice?Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings.,Personal electronic communication devices have both appositive and negative impact on the care of patients. In today’s highly reformed healthcare system, it is agreeable that mobile devices are being integrated more in patient care and positively impacts outcomes by increasing efficiency in communication, providing clinical resources for decision making, increasing productivity and reducing medical errors (Neft & Greenier, 2013). On the other hand, personal communication devices can negatively impact care by increasing the risk of contamination by bacteria, interference with medical equipment and wrong application of the knowledge provided by such devices which can essentially lead to medication and medical errors (Neft & Greenier, 2013).,Some of the most common legal and ethical implications range from malpractices in the clinical setting to mistakes associated with information security. In general medical practice, confidential data should only be shared with a patient’s informed consent, when required for legal purposes or in cases where failure to disclose relevant data can undoubtedly lead to harm (Yang & Silverman, 2014).  Beyond the aforementioned exceptions, all healthcare providers are ethically and professionally obligated to protect confidential data.Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings.,Professional literature acknowledges that personal communication devices are vital for our daily lives. On the other hand, they also endanger efficiency in care settings, privacy and security, are potential distractors and the quality of patient care. According to Neft & Greenier, 2013), they can support safe nursing practice when best practices are used are guidelines to alleviate the negative implications in healthcare settings. Examples of such best practices include: encouraging the use of organization-provided devices with pre-installed apps and functions that are job-specific, creating no-cellular zones in highly sensitive areas such as CCUs, ICUs and HDUs, promoting the use of sanitizers and gloves with devices to reduce contamination with bacteria, encrypting all digital data among others.Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings.,

NR361 Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings,Purpose,This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcome (CO).,Discussion,This week, we will discuss personal communication devices and their use in healthcare. As we focus on this topic, please address the questions below in the discussion.Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings.,SOLUTION,NR361 week 7: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings,The need to ensure effective and efficient communication in healthcare settings has led to consideration for use of personal communication devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops in patient care settings (Hebda, Hunter, & Czar, 2019). There are various positive impacts on personal communication devices. To begin with, they allow streamlining of communication in that health care team members are able to get hold of each other. Smartphones can offer a reliable and accessible approach of obtaining the right information, to the right people, at the right time (McKnight & Franko, 2016)Week 7 Discussion: Use of Personal Communication Devices in Patient Care Settings.