Mobile Technology Improves Patient Outcomes JULIE POPE COLUMBUS STATE UNIVERSITY

Abstract Mobile technology can improve patient outcomes in the healthcare profession. Communication issues between clinicians can result in frequent patient admissions to the hospital for clinical deterioration requiring interventions. Mobile technology can improve validity of communication and decrease the time clinical information is available (Wu, Tran, Lo, O’Leary, Morra, Quan, & Perrier, 2012). Mobile technology allows for immediate data reporting and retrieval, automated trigger alerts, survey completion in real time, decreased missing information, and improved patient satisfaction (Schick-Makaroff, & Molzahn, 2015). Mobile technology can decrease high hospital care costs, improve health care convenience, promote communication between clinicians and patients, improve the accessibility of health care resources for patients, and empower patients to gain more control of their disease care by improving patient disease clinical self-management, psychosocial, behavioral, and knowledge outcomes (Or, & Tao, 2014). The research studies used to evaluate the use of mobile technology to improve patient outcomes support its use in the healthcare profession.

Introduction  In the medical profession, mobile technology has become a front runner to improve patient outcomes by:  improving communication between patients and healthcare professionals which improves patient satisfaction, quality of care, and communication among care providers about medications, diagnostics tests, and treatment results.  allowing broad demographic communication among clinics and healthcare programs.  being universal in nature and more user friendly than in the past.  decreasing treatment and medication errors with data entry compliance.  lowering medical cost while improving patient outcomes. Davis, T. (2014).  Research studies support mobile technology use in the healthcare.  Some aspects of using mobile technology such as logistics of technology, security, institutional and financial support, and electronic design still need further research. Schick-Makaroff, K., & Molzahn, A. (2015).

Objectives Clinicians will be able to:  interpret how different mobile technologies affect patient outcomes.  understand how being open minded to the new technological advances in mobile devices improves patient care  understand how the use of modern technology will create a new era of health benefits.

Rationale for Project  Technology in healthcare is advancing rapidly.  Mobile devices improve data collection, improve patient outcomes, improve health clinician communication, improve diagnostic test result reporting, improve patient satisfaction, decrease admissions to hospitals, improve cost effectiveness, and improve patient safety.  Research studies support the use of mobile technology in healthcare.  Both the patients and healthcare professionals will benefit from the use of mobile technology in the healthcare profession.

Mobile Devices in Healthcare

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Mobile Devices in Healthcare

PICO Question  In patients, does mobile technology use compared to not using mobile technology improve patient outcomes within the next 6 months?

Evidence for Change  Mobile technology use in healthcare will increase in the future.  Clinicians will need to familiarize themselves with mobile technology uses, benefits, and drawbacks.  The use of mobile devices for data collection improves:  patient outcomes  health clinician communication  diagnostic test result reporting  patient satisfaction  patient safety.

Recommendations  Educate staff on type of mobile technology used in healthcare  Recruit super-users or change agents to help teach the staff how to use the technology and answer questions concerning devices  Empower the staff to overcome their resistance to change by educating them that the change is to benefit patient care and outcomes  Identify staff conflicts and address any concerns of the staff about the devices

Recommendations  Develop in-services for staff education  Set up mobile device practice sessions for the staff  Check offs to validate the staff’s knowledge of new technology  Encourage staff input about how the devices can be best utilized to achieve the best patient outcomes

Recommendations Continue to evaluate and summarize:  problems with training and device use  successes of using the mobile devices  challenges that occurred during implementing the new technology  document for future reference to improve implementation of new practices

Evaluation of Project In order to evaluate the success of the project:  open discussions after PowerPoint completion to clarify questions  questionnaires on PowerPoint format presentation  comment section on what was liked, disliked, and recommendations  post-test on PowerPoint presentation.  A score of 80 means that the material presented was effective and retained. A score of less than 80 means material retention was not effective and another in-service may be required.

Expected Outcomes of Proposed Project  This project will increase the knowledge base of how different mobile technologies can affect patient outcomes.  Clinicians will understand the importance of being open minded to the new technological advances in mobile devices that can improve patient care.  Clinicians will understand modern technology creates a new era of health benefits.

Conclusion  The research studies used to evaluate the use of mobile technology to improve patient outcomes support its use in the healthcare profession.  The use of mobile devices for data collection in the medical profession can improve patient outcomes, improve health clinician communication, improve diagnostic test result reporting, improve patient satisfaction, decrease admissions to hospitals, improve cost effectiveness, and improve patient safety.  There are still some aspects of using mobile technology that need to be addressed such as logistics of technology, security, institutional and financial support, and electronic design.  Does anyone have any questions?

Improved Outcomes

References  Davis, T. (2014). How Mobile Technology is Evolving in Clinical Trials. Applied Clinical Trials, 23(12),  Or, C. K., & Tao, D. (2014). Review: Does the use of consumer health information technology improve outcomes in the patient self-management of diabetes? A meta-analysis and narrative review of randomized controlled trials. International Journal of Medical Informatics, doi: /j.ijmedinf  Schick-Makaroff, K., & Molzahn, A. (2015). Strategies to use tablet computers for collection of electronic patient-reported outcomes. Health & Quality of Life Outcomes, 13(1), doi: /s ).  Wu, R. C., Tran, K., Lo, V., O’Leary, K. J., Morra, D., Quan, S. D., & Perrier, L. (2012). Effects of clinical communication interventions in hospitals: A systematic review of information and communication technology adoptions for improved communication between clinicians. International Journal of Medical Informatics, doi: /j.ijmedinf ).