xAdvances in technology have touched nearly every area of our lives, but where many people can see it the most it where it has made improvements in our nation’s healthcare. New technology has made it easier for doctors to communicate with each other, surgeries to become more successful and for recovery to be more convenient for patients. New advancements, such as the invention of the Smart IV Pump, have allowed for fewer errors to occur within the hospital setting, although many who do not trust new technology are skeptical about the accuracy of such advancements.
Human errors in medicine have always been a concern in medicine. The time that it take to calculate, check, administer, and recheck the administration of IV medications, fluids and nutrients to patients can be consuming, and human error can still occur. These new IV pumps have been designed to eliminate human calculations, preprogrammed with the basic information about medications typically administered through the IV, and then staff is responsible for entering patient information such as body weight, allowing the machine to automatically calculate how often the IV should administer the needed substance.
This new technology brings a whole new level of safety to patients, who are the ones directly impacted by human error that can occur by staff. Also, when staff becomes too busy, they may not be able to get to IV administration right away, which can leave patients upset, in pain, or possibly in danger. The new IV pumps will automatically dispense the medication, because it is pre-programmed and calculated to do so, which will keep patients safe. Not only that, because it eliminates the possibility of human error during the calculation process, they are less likely to be put at risk for an overdose or under-dose of medication administration.
There is no doubt that medical staff is heavily burdened in hospital settings, especially in the emergency room. When staff feels rushed, the chances of a mistake increase. Inexperienced staff also has a higher rate of making mistakes, along with tired staff. Technology is now there to help alleviate staff concerns. Change is difficult for some staff, especially those who are veterans in the field. Some don’t trust new technology, especially when patient’s lives are at stake. There are concerns that technology can fail. There are also concerns that technology may not be perfectly accurate. However, technology can be monitored, and so far, especially as it continues to improve, the advancements have been tested and would not be used in a hospital setting if it was not safe enough to be used for patient care.
Technology in health care has been used to not only help create more time and cost saving measures, it has also helped to alleviate human error and staff stress. Advancements such as IV pumps that automatically calculate administration of medications, fluids and nutrients to patients in hospital settings have created a new trend allowing for a smarter way of doing things. Patients are safer, staff now has more time now that they do not have to calculate everything by hand, and less oversight is necessary.