Marshall Debiase
Documentation is the key source of communication between healthcare professionals when it comes to patient’s care and overall status. How would we be able to keep track of everything that has been done on every patient? Paper documents like face sheets sometimes get over printed and can be left around the department. Keeping organized and not printing off excess paper work with patients info is effective and a simplistic way to prevent these errors. Documenting takes away from patient care and is only getting worse with heavy work loads, poor staffing ratios, and the documenting needing to be more thorough. A solution is being efficient with your time during the shift and communicating/delegating to other co workers so catching up with charting becomes less habitual. Epic and other software’s have replaced paper charting, though downtime presents conflicts at untimely manners, it has made it easier and more efficient to navigate through care plans and trends in patient status. There is more of a risk of a breach through spam and FISHING emails. Hospitals and organizations will orient you on how to spot such clickbaits that are set up to gain access to patient info. Another issue with technology is the nurses spend more time with the computer than the patient. We must maintain an awareness that life does not have to be seen through a screen, which is becoming more difficult in this progressive time, Overall I think there is an appropriate amount of tech to introduce into medicine, but when we solely rely on it to drive our assessments and our interactions we lose out on our careers and our lives.
Marshall Debiase makes some valid points regarding the challenges and benefits of technology in healthcare documentation. Here’s a breakdown of the key points raised:
- Importance of Documentation: Marshall highlights the critical role of documentation in healthcare as the primary means of communication among healthcare professionals concerning a patient’s care and status. Accurate and organized documentation is crucial for patient safety and continuity of care.
- Issues with Paper Documentation: Traditional paper-based documentation can have problems like overprinting, misplacement, and the potential for unauthorized access. This highlights the need for a more efficient and secure documentation system.
- Efficiency and Communication: Marshall suggests that healthcare professionals need to be efficient with their time during their shifts and emphasize effective communication and delegation to reduce the burden of documentation. This approach can help healthcare workers spend more time with patients.
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs): The adoption of EHRs, like Epic and other software, has improved the efficiency and accessibility of patient information. However, downtime and the risk of data breaches through phishing emails are concerns that need to be addressed when relying on technology.
- Balancing Technology and Patient Care: Marshall highlights the potential drawback of healthcare professionals spending more time with computers than patients. There’s a need to strike a balance between technology-assisted assessments and human interaction to provide quality patient care.
- Conclusion: Marshall concludes that there is an appropriate place for technology in medicine but emphasizes that over-reliance on technology can have detrimental effects on healthcare professionals’ careers and patient care. Striking the right balance between technology and human interaction is essential.
In summary, Marshall Debiase’s perspective underscores the importance of efficient documentation methods, the benefits and challenges of electronic health records, and the need for healthcare professionals to maintain a balance between technology and patient care to provide the best possible healthcare services.