Although health care professionals play a significant role in health outcomes, the day-to-day management of a patient’s health is also a personal responsibility. Physicians and nurses can provide diagnoses, interventions, treatments, and prescriptions, but they will only have an impact if patients follow through with their health care provider’s recommendations.
The advent of diverse health-related technologies is providing unprecedented opportunities to assist patients in maintaining control of their health. Consider for a moment health and fitness mobile apps, talking pill bottles, and smart apartments. New patient-centered technologies are being developed every day!
For this Assignment, you will select a health-related mobile app, personal health record, smart technology, or an interactive social media site that is helping patients to better manage their health.
Note: For the purposes of this assignment, a “mobile app” is defined as a technology application that can be viewed, played, and stored on smartphone devices and tablets.
- Review Chapter 35, “Consumer/Patient Engagement and eHealth Resources”, in the course text, Essentials of Nursing Informatics, and consider how technological innovations are transforming the ways patients’ access health-related information.
- Reflect on the various patient-centered technologies that you or others may use, as well as those gaining attention in the media.
- Conduct research on patient-centered technologies that assist users in managing their own health.
- Select one technology category such as apps, personal health records, smart technologies, or interactive social media sites to further explore. Examine the parameters of a specific patient-centered technology within this category. How does this technology put patients in control of their health?
Submit a 1-page paper that addresses the following:
- Identify the patient-centered technology that you selected, as well as the population of patients for whom this technology is designed.
- Describe how this technology is tailored toward patient use. Specifically, explain how the features, functions, and design can help patients manage their own health.
- Explain the risks and benefits this technology might bring to users.
- Predict the impact this technology might have on patient health outcomes. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from the Learning Resources and any additional sources.
Note: If you choose to select an interactive social media site, text- or article-based websites such as WebMD or Health.gov may not be selected. For the purposes of this course, interactive social media is defined as a digital technology that allows users to manipulate, interact with, and/or engage with other users. Ensure that if you choose an interactive social media site, it adheres to this rule.