Title : The evolving paradigm of patient care in the age of wearable technology
Abstract:
Advancement in technology changes the world in a warp speed. Computer devices are no longer items that we use in our homes and places of work, carry in our bags and pockets. We can now wear those devices. There are a wide range of types of these wearable technologies that now includes implantable devices. It holds great potential in reshaping the health provision and has a positive impact on the wearer’s health. We are seeing growing numbers of users actively changing their behavior for the better with the adoption of wearable devices. Integrating them in our lifestyle enhances the quality of life, improves healthcare delivery and medical education. Wearable devices have evolved and there is an increasing interest in their application in medical settings. It can provide information on patient’s behavior like blood pressure, breathing patterns and blood glucose levels. It can also generate signals detecting activity. Wrist-worn accelerometers assist in the evaluation of sleep quality in healthy subjects as well as in in-patient and ICU settings where poor sleep has been linked with adverse outcomes. There are also wearable devices that can provide information on heart rhythm. Frequent heart rate tracking as a means of enhancing routine monitoring for early detection may enable the wearer to seek medical guidance, otherwise these conditions would likely go undetected for some time. This can also be a component of an early warning system to detect clinical deterioration for patients with chronic diseases. Furthermore, it could enable detailed and near-continuous characterization of recovery following critical illness. FDA-approved ingestible sensors may also be embedded in pills that can track patients’ adherence. It is a means of recording useful information and incredible amount of data. Extensive monitoring of patients can be time consuming for nursing staff. Body position detectors, activity sensors and glucose-level tracker and other similar devices allow for non-invasive frequent measurements and continuous monitoring which are useful in ICU setting. It also saves time, prevents medical errors, and minimizes potential adverse events. Moreover, it leads to better patient mobility and reduces pain associated with invasive monitoring. Finger stick glucose monitoring, point-of-care or blood gas analyzers are not continuous. These intermittent glucose measurements don’t provide frequent data. Episodes of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia which can occur between readings are often overlooked or missed. Whereas subcutaneous continuous glucose monitoring measure glucose levels every minute through a glucose oxidase method. The healthcare provider will be alerted of critically low or high results. Leaf Patient Monitoring System by Leaf Healthcare Inc. monitors hospital-acquired pressure injuries due to ineffective turning reminders or alerts, understaffing, busy environment, unstable patients to turn and patients’ non-adherence. Programs that provide software for Epilepsy, which enable us to gather health data and alert medical staff to any complications, helping clinicians develop detailed record of the patient’s condition and seizure patterns. Combination of smart wearables, patient- facing applications and communication technology as well as the analytic power of the software, provides the Epileptic Consortium to scale and leverage machine learning capabilities and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Advancement in the area of wearable systems will continue to transform and enhance the quality of our nursing care. Responsive patient care, challenges and opportunities, and future innovations will be explored in this presentation. In the near future, we, NURSES, will inevitably care for patients with wearable technology.
