Question 1

Which healthcare technology in an acute care facility is most likely to cause health professional burnout?

Accepted Answer

The healthcare technology most likely to cause health professional burnout is electronic medical records (EMRs) because they are ubiquitous; many, if not most, are not interoperable with other organizations' records; and few are fully optimized for health professional use or patient access. Facility-furnished smart phones are not a likely source of health professional burnout. Some older patients learn to do home telemonitoring (monitoring of vital signs in the home) if they become home healthcare patients, but this ability is not a likely source of health professional burnout.

Question 2

Of these top four healthcare priorities, which was ranked fourth in a survey of healthcare consumers?

Accepted Answer

Among the provided options, being digitally connected to manage healthcare ranked fourth among surveyed individuals. This prioritization puts the health care digital revolution into perspective, as it indicates that digital tools, while of interest to patients, lag well behind interpersonal relationships with doctors, the finances of care, and access issues on the patient priority scale.

Question 3

While electronic medical records (EMRs) are rapidly growing in use in healthcare settings, they present multiple issues and concerns. Which is the most glaring problem identified by clinicians?

Accepted Answer

All of the concerns are real. However, the most glaring problem identified is the amount of time and effort needed to enter data and to find relevant information within the EMR. Some estimate that doctors and nurses spend half their time in documentation when in the clinical setting and, as a result, perform other clinical and administrative tasks after hours. It is believed that this concern with EMRs is directly related to clinician burnout.

Question 4

The majority of practicing health professionals have eagerly incorporated electronic tools into their daily work flow. Which is the most positive outcome related to the use of electronic communication?

Accepted Answer

For a nurse caring for a rapidly declining patient, getting an immediate response from physician on stabilization measures can literally be a lifesaver, which is the most positive outcome related to electronic communication. Overabundant communication, which can divert attention from the clinical tasks at hand is actually a downside of electronic communication. The receiver of electronic communication will get information only at the time the message is opened, which may not be upon immediate receipt. Saving time is important; however, getting lifesaving information is the most positive outcome from electronic communication.

Question 5

A policy statement published in the Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (Storck, 2017) provides guidelines for health professional\patient texting. Which practice is recommended?

Accepted Answer

It is suggested that patient's first and last names not be stored in the phone contacts; use only first name and last initial to ensure privacy. The healthcare provider's phone being used to send text messages to patients needs to be password protected. There is no reason to have the patient change their password after each communication. All means should be taken to assure the patient's phone number for receiving texts is correct, but it is not necessary for the patient to be called prior to being texted. Only if text messages contain substantial clinical information relevant to the patient's care should the information be transcribed into the patient's medical record.

Question 6

Which connected care practice also applies to digital communication between a patient and the healthcare provider?

Accepted Answer

It is important to express the message clearly and succinctly, using neutral words and phrases. Misunderstandings can arise if the words in the message are not clear or if there is no context for the message. Complex consultations and discussions, as well as information with an emotional element, are not appropriate for electronic communication and should be conducted in person or at least by phone. All forms of patient communication are to be shared on a "need to know" basis. Communication about patient care is vital, and information must be transmitted using an electronic format that is common to both parties; it may or may not include email.

Question 7

Medical professionals may want to help their patients select and use medical apps that are safe and effective. Which action is appropriate for the medical practitioner to perform prior to recommending an app to patients?

Accepted Answer

An appropriate action is to review app descriptions, user ratings, and reviews online before recommending an app to patients. Sending a survey to other professionals about the apps they use is costly and time consuming and may not result in the best feedback. The medical practitioner may review the scientific literature for research about specific apps, for validity; however, information in the app does not need to be presented in a scientific manner. Supplying an app to patients and then asking for feedback may be costly, and feedback may be skewed by the patients' desire to please the medical practitioner.

Question 8

Healthcare mobile apps are only truly patient centered if the app design meets the needs of the population using it.

Accepted Answer

Healthcare mobile apps are by their nature designed to be patient centered. One that is highly complex to use and visually confusing probably better satisfies the software engineer's needs than those of the patient\user.

Question 9

Artificial intelligence research shows when machines learn to think like humans they absorb human prejudices and biases and do not have the ability to counteract these biases.

Accepted Answer

Problems like the bias issue are troubling and need to be identified and addressed as the field of AI advances. This research highlights the need for health professionals who use AI programs not to go on "auto pilot" and simply accept the dictates of a piece of software that was, after all, formed by human thinking and biases.

Question 10

Hospital telemetry false alarms are rare.

Accepted Answer

Some estimates of hospital telemetry false alarms are as high as 85%.

Quiz 9: Digital Connections, Communication, and Collaboration