Human/Technology Interface

THE HUMAN TECHNOLOGY INTERFACE & NURSING

 

 

 

Human-Technology Interface (HTI) is the hardware and software through which the user interacts with any technology.

 

Examples of human-technology interfaces the nurse might encounter on a daily basis depending on the job specialty include:

 

• Defibrillators
• Omnicell
• Intravenous pumps
• Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps
• Physiologic monitoring systems
• Electronic thermometers
• Cardiac Monitoring systems
• Hospital Barcoding
• Telephones & Pagers

 

 

 

 

 

Human Technology Interface not only serves to increase patient satisfaction and improve patient outcomes but creates a dynamic partnership with nurse leaders allowing them to track quality measures and monitor outcomes.  Nurse leaders not only stand in the forefront when in comes to clinical advancement but also must be knowledgeable regarding technology and how it functions to improvement healthcare all around. In the long term care facility I used to work, the facility implemented the use of tablets for all NPs and MDs to have on their persons at all times. With the use of the tablet the physician was able to enter the patient's room without carrying a stack of papers or an oversized laptop, and show the patient and family the progress or decline that patient was experiencing. With this implementation it allowed that patient, medical professional, and family members to be part of the healthcare process, not a body just sitting in a room answering redundant questions and receiving a physical assessment. The facility was in process of distributing tablets to nurse managers so that they would have the opportunity to exit their office more often and become more mobile throughout the unit and entire facility.

 

 

 

 

The EHR system is a human-interface technology becoming widely used by healthcare due to government push as a result of its positive patient safety outcomes. EHR is cost effective by reducing costs through decreased paperwork, reduction in duplicate testing, improved safety, and improved health. EHR promotes better healthcare by improving all aspects of patient care, including safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, communication, education, timeliness, efficiency, and equity. However, the user must know how to use the system properly. Much discussion is on the negative outcomes associated with nurses  performing workarounds, such as overriding an alert to a potentially dangerous medication. On the other hand, the benefits of the EHR by far outweighs the risks.

 

 

 

 

References

 

Gephart, S. & Effken, J. (2013). Using Health Information Technology to Engage Patients in their Care. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI), 17 (3), Available at  http://ojni.org/issues/?p=2848

 

	Vogelsmeier, A. A., Halbesleben, J. R. B., & Scott-Cawiezell, J. R. (2008). Technology Implementation and Workarounds in the Nursing Home. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, 15(1), 114–119. http://doi.org/10.1197/jamia.M2378