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ABSTRACT
Technology is well beyond the classroom. When we think of technology, we often think of fun things such as video games, 3D printing, cell phones and even financial institutions. The authors of this paper will discuss a new wave of technology being utilized in the health care field. Hospitals are attempting to implement an electronic sitter program that will be connected to a computer that a monitor technician will watch. This technology is designed to cut down on staffing difficulties that occur when nursing assistants and nurses are utilized to sit with patients who are agitated or pose a fall risk. The monitors will have speakers through which staff will be able to communicate with patients to provide distraction and instructions to try and help them remain in bed and or to calm the patient and lessen anxiety. The need for sitters to reduce the number of falls or other concerns related to dangerous patient behaviors is present, but sitters are not always cost effective as they are often overused or kept longer than are necessary. This project provides an innovative approach to a complex patient care problem.
Evolving Information Communication Technology and Health Care
Technology, including information communication technologies (ICT), has played a critical role in advancements made in medicine and health care. As far back as 1876 with the invention of the telephone, technology has been used in health care to allow caregivers to communicate, monitor, and deliver health care services from a distance. Physicians were one of the first to adopt use of the telephone as a tool to complete their work and it continues to remain an important source for communication within health care (Zundel, 1996). Additional ICT inventions has allowed for increased possibilities to provide health care delivery in new and innovative ways.
Some of the innovations in ICT include: the 1950's, which brought about the first commercial computer and copier, the 1960's, which brought the invention of the Magnafax Telecopier and hospital information systems, and the 1980's, when the modern day internet was established and email became a possibility (MGMA, 2005; Nestor, 2001). The modern day fax machine, the computer, the internet, and clinical information systems have transformed how patient results, care orders, medical billing, patient documentation,...