“The Impact of Emerging Technology on

Nursing Care: Warp Speed Ahead”

by Carol Huston, MSN, DPA, FAAN

May 31, 2013

Science, Technology and Society

Midterm Learning Evidence: Journal Article Review

Submitted by:

Kayl S. Semillano

Rizeil F. De Jesus

1
 I. Introduction.

While several factors are altering the nature of modern healthcare, one might make the case

that nothing will alter nursing practice more than recent technological advancements. Technology

is transforming the world at warp speed, and nowhere is this more evident than in the healthcare

industry. This article lists seven developing technologies that will transform nursing practice, three

skill sets that nurses will need to develop in order to acquire, apply, and integrate these emerging

technologies, and four difficulties that nurse leaders will encounter when implementing this new

technology.

2
II. Summary:

The practice of nursing will alter significantly during the next ten years due to several

upcoming technologies. Genetics and genomes, less invasive and more precise diagnostic and

therapeutic techniques, 3-D printing, robotics, biometrics, electronic health records, computerized

physician/provider order input, and clinical decision support are the seven topics covered in this

article. The healthcare system will undergo much more change as a result of future genetic and

genomic applications. Future changes to nursing practice will also be brought about by less

invasive and more precise diagnostic and therapeutic instruments. The body becomes a system of

replaceable parts because of the use of 3D printing in the medical field (Banham, 2013). Although

the printing of solid organs like hearts and livers is anticipated within a generation, 3D printers

can currently print simpler tissues like skin, heart muscle patches, and blood arteries. Future

nursing practice will be significantly impacted by robotics, a developing field in healthcare. The

need for higher-quality care that is not constrained by human constraints, an increasing elderly

population, and labor shortages are all contributing factors to the predicted growth in robotics.

However, the future of nursing may be most impacted by the implementation of robots as direct

service providers (Huston, 2014). Numerous healthcare professionals have voiced their concerns

about the lack of emotion in robots, claiming that this is the quality that will always distinguish

robots from human caretakers. As couriers, robots will be employed more and more. Robotic

couriers locate and transport products including medicines, supplies, and equipment so that

important human resources can stay in the patient care area. Due to the requirement to protect

patient data's confidentiality and security, i.e., to adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the healthcare industry will also continue to undergo rapid

3
change as a result of new technology (Huston, 2014). To do this, creators of new technology must

ensure that access is both appropriate and targeted. Information access issues are frequently

addressed with the use of biometrics, or the science of identifying persons using physical traits

including fingerprints, handprints, retinal scans, palm vein prints, voice recognition, facial

structure, and dynamic signatures. Since they will provide the necessary security for medical

records, experts predict that biometric signatures will become commonplace in most healthcare

organizations (Krawczyk & Jain, n.d.). As a result of technology, even medical records are

constantly changing. Nursing practice is significantly impacted by any modifications to the

recording of care. The term "electronic health record" (EHR) refers to a digital record of a patient's

medical history that may include information from numerous institutions, including hospitals,

doctor's offices, clinics, and public health organizations (Huston, 2014). The EHR contains built-

in safeguards to ensure patient health information confidentiality and security and is accessible

twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A software program called CPOE was created

expressly for clinicians to enter patient orders electronically rather than on paper. Through access

to information resources, CPOE also provides essential clinical decision support (CDS), which

aids medical professionals in making choices regarding a patient's diagnosis, treatment, and overall

care. According to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (2011), clinical

decision support is "a process for enhancing health-related decisions and actions with pertinent,

organized clinical knowledge and patient information to improve health and healthcare delivery".

Being able to use technology to facilitate mobility, communication, and relationships;

being an expert in knowledge information, acquisition, and distribution; and comprehending and

utilizing genetics and genomics in nursing are just a few of the leadership skills that nurses will

4
need to effectively respond to emerging technologies. Nurses must have the necessary skills to

provide high-quality care as patient requirements and care environments have grown more

complicated. These skills include leadership, health policy, system improvement, research, and

evidence-based practice, as well as cooperation and collaboration. What do nurses need to know

about all this developing technology? Nurses must ensure several things, but probably most

significantly, that the human element is not overlooked in the rush to advance technology. The art

of nursing is in the human connection, so nurses must actively participate in deciding how to best

use technology to support, not replace, human resources. Along with a healthcare system that is so

heavily reliant on technology, nurses must also deal with other leadership concerns, like cost.

These technologies are without a doubt saving lives and improving the quality of life for millions,

but sometimes technology development comes first and then a need is created simply because the

technology exists. In addition, access to technology is often dependent on a person’s ability to pay

for that technology; many healthcare disparities still exist in this regard.

According to the 2010 IOM report, The Future of Nursing, nurses will be needed to fill

growing roles, learn technological tools and information systems, collaborate with other teams of

healthcare professionals, and coordinate care. To ensure that nurses will have the competences

they need to address these emerging technologies, nurse leaders must start considering how

emerging technologies will alter nursing practice as soon as possible. Nursing as a profession must

take a proactive stance and not delegate this leadership position to others.

5
III. Discussion:

This article identifies seven emerging technologies that will alter nursing practice, three

skill sets nurses will need to develop to acquire, use, and incorporate these emerging technologies,

and four challenges nurse leaders will face when integrating this new technology.

The pace with which technology is transforming the world is most evident in healthcare

settings. There are numerous emerging technologies that will transform nursing practice over the

next decade. Genetics and genomics; less invasive and more accurate instruments for diagnosis

and treatment; 3-D printing; robotics; biometrics; electronic health records; and computerized

physician/provider order entry and clinical decision support are the seven topics covered in this

article.

Genetics and Genomics

Benefits:

According to Calzone et al. (2010), the vast majority of disease risks, health disorders, and

the treatments that are used to treat those illnesses have a hereditary and/or genomic component

that is modified by environmental, lifestyle, and other variables. As a result, the nursing profession

as a whole is affected.

6
Challenges:

There are a lot of nurses working today who aren't very knowledgeable about genetics and

genomics, and they don't have the skills necessary to properly advise and educate their patients on

these topics.

Less Invasive and More Accurate Tools for Diagnostics and Treatment

Benefits:

Diagnostic and treatment methods that are non-invasive or just slightly invasive are often

associated with reduced levels of risk and expense for the patient.

Challenges:

The rapid pace at which noninvasive and minimally invasive techniques are being

developed is a challenge for nurses in maintaining their proficiency in the appropriate use of these

tools.

3-D Printing

Benefits:

According to Thompson (2012), bioprinters, which use a "bio-ink" comprised of live cell

mixes, are able to produce a three-dimensional structure of cells by layering them one on top of

the other to form human tissue and, ultimately, human organs that can be replaced.

7
Challenges:

The healthcare industry has just scratched the surface of what can be accomplished with

this technology. According to Nusca (2012), there are limitations to the types of materials that can

be utilized for printing, and the field of materials science has lagged behind in the development of

3D printing.

Robotics

Benefits:

Robotics may give greater diagnostic capacities, a less intrusive and more pleasant

experience for the patient, and the capacity to undertake smaller and more precise treatments

(Newell, n.d.). Robotics can also make it possible to do interventions that are more exact. In

addition, robots have the potential to be utilized as supplementary caretakers for the provision of

various aspects of physical and mental health care.

Challenges:

Additional study is required to compare and contrast the efficacy of human and robotic

medical care providers. Many people who work in the medical field have voiced their worry about

the fact that robots do not possess feelings, implying that this is the quality that would never allow

them to fully replace human caretakers.

8
Biometrics

Benefits:

The expenses associated with handling forgotten passwords are eliminated, and the security

of private healthcare information is increased thanks to biometrics.

Challenges:

In hospital settings, the measurement of biometric markers may take place in conditions

that are less than optimal, and in a workforce that is always evolving, the cost may become a

problem.

Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR)

Benefits:

It is now possible for healthcare practitioners to have access, practically 24 hours a day,

seven days a week, to crucial patient information from many providers. This allows for better

coordinated treatment.

Challenges:

The expenses of implementation, the difficulty of enabling computers to communicate with

one another, and the ongoing controversy over who "owns" the data contained in the EHR continue

to be obstacles to the mandatory deployment of the EHR.

9
Computerized Physician/Provider Order; Entry (CPOE) and Clinical Decision Support

Benefits:

The ordering process will be radically altered thanks to CPOE and clinical decision

support, which will result in cheaper costs, a reduction in medical mistakes, and an increase in the

number of treatments based on evidence and best practices.

Challenges:

The use of CPOE and clinical decision support requires healthcare providers to make

adjustments to their standard operating procedures. The amount of time that is spent on order input

is one of the primary causes of resistance. The expenditures associated with implementation and

training are often substantial.

Nursing Skill Sets Needed to Appropriately Respond to Emerging Technologies

National Defense University (n.d.) identifies the ability to manage human knowledge and

transform it into usable goods and services as a "critical" leadership talent for the modern day.

Ability to effectively utilize technology to improve mobility, communication, and interpersonal

relationships; knowledge information, acquisition, and distribution expertise; and familiarity with

genetics and genomics as applied to nursing practice are all examples of leadership skills that will

be necessary for nurses to effectively respond to emerging technologies.

10
Being able to use technology to facilitate mobility, communication, and relationships

Email, telehealth and telemedicine, internet, cellular technology, text messaging, video

conferencing, smart phones, 3-dimensional printing, high fidelity simulation, virtual realities such

as Second Life Virtual World, social media networking, embedded sensor networks, global

positioning systems, bio-electronics

Having expertise in knowledge information, acquisition, and distribution

Information literacy, evidence-based practice, clinical decision support, sensemaking,

commercially purchased expert networks, distributed expertise, boundary spanning knowledge

management, knowledge engineering, standardized guidelines, fuzzy case-based reasoning,

understanding of cognitive science theory and complex adaptive systems theory

Understanding and using genomics in nursing

Understanding of the Human Genome Project, genetic sequencing, service delivery models

that promote safe, efficient, and effective utilization of genetic/genomic information in care

decisions (First Genetics, 2008); ethical issues related to genomics encountered throughout the life

continuum and around the world (First Genetics, 2008); ethno-cultural beliefs and practices for

utilization of genomic-based care; and resources available to arm nurses with information to learn

about and teach genetics (First Genetics, 2008).

11
Nursing Leadership Challenges in Integrating New Technology

In this part, we'll look at four of the biggest obstacles faced by nursing executives when

trying to implement cutting-edge healthcare technology.

Balancing the Human Element with Technology

How does technology affect nurses? Nurses must ensure that technology does not replace

humanity. Nurses must actively participate in deciding how to utilize technology to augment, not

replace, human resources. In the future decade, nurse leaders will need to establish a balance

between employing technology to its fullest and respecting the human aspect.

Balancing Cost and Benefits

Cost is another leadership problem for nurses in a technology-driven health care system.

Technology drives the world's most costly healthcare system, the U.S. These technologies save

lives and improve quality of life for millions, yet occasionally technological advancement creates

a need. Many healthcare inequities arise because access to technology typically depends on a

person's capacity to pay for it.

Training a Technology Enabled Nursing Workforce and Assuring Ongoing Competency

Nursing is an information-based profession that provides health care, and technology

facilitates the delivery of all relevant information to the point of care. Cipriano (2011) predicts that

nurse informaticians will lead this transformation as technology and computers become pervasive

and all nurses must exhibit capabilities to sustain cutting-edge practices. These informatics

12
professionals will bridge the gap between physicians and technology and revolutionize delivery

models using health IT (Cipriano, 2011).

Assuring that Technology Use is Ethical

Finally, nursing leaders must increasingly examine "how" and "why" to employ

technology. What ethical guidelines should be set? Not everything that can be done should be

done. Organizational leaders will increasingly encounter "wicked" technological issues, which

have numerous causes, are hard to articulate, and have no proper solution. Thomas Baldwin, a

philosophy professor at York University in Britain, recently said that new technologies raise hopes

of curing terrible diseases and fears of the consequences of trying to enhance human capability

beyond what is normally possible (Kelland, 2012). Baldwin concluded that the blending of man

and machine would raise ethical questions concerning new medical and other technology. Nurses

must discuss ethical issues.

Technology's influence on a variety of industries, including healthcare, is undeniable as it

develops at a rapid rate. With the advent of new technology, nursing care has undergone

tremendous transformation. These advancements have both positive and bad implications for

patient care and nursing practice.

The improvement of patient safety is one of the primary areas where technology has

positively impacted nursing care. In many hospital settings, electronic health records (EHRs) have

taken the place of paper-based records, giving nurses and other healthcare professionals access to

13
precise and current patient information at their fingertips. Medication mistakes have decreased as

a result, and team communications and care coordination have also improved.

Additionally, patients who live far away or have limited mobility now have increased

access to healthcare because of telehealth and remote monitoring technologies. With the advent of

remote nursing care, patients no longer need to travel to healthcare facilities and can receive more

convenient treatment, such as virtual visits, telephone consultations, and remote monitoring of

vital signs.

In the area of patient education, technology has also had a big impact. With the use of

internet resources, instructional films, and interactive health applications, nurses can give patients

up-to-date, accurate health information that will enable them to take charge of their health and

make wise decisions about their care.

14
IV. Conclusions:

The advancement of technology has enhanced how healthcare is being delivered in today’s

time. Its advancements improve the way nurses and doctors cater to patients. It's amazing how it

can be a benefit to both patient and healthcare team since it can make the services easily accessible

at any time. The use of conventional less invasive and more accurate tools for diagnostics and

treatment can now easily detect any deterioration in the body without any invasive procedure done.

This type of diagnostic test is a foremost way to easily diagnose any patient who might be

suspected to have a certain disease or illness. The safety and confidentiality of patient information

is being safeguard with the use of recent biometrics. Clearly, even in relatively unchanging

contexts, preparing for the future is challenging. The difficulties increase dramatically when they

involve industries as dynamic as healthcare and technology.

It is true that technology allows nurses to spend more time with patients and less time on

routine tasks. We were able to retrieve patient records more quickly and accurately, which

enhanced care accessibility. It reduced the workload for nurses to gather information about the

patient's medical history, particularly with the use of an electronic health record. Any gains,

however, also have disadvantages. Before implementing numerous technological systems into

their facilities, hospitals should be aware of the challenges posed by the ongoing evolution and

growth of technologies. They should also make sure that their staff is informed about the dangers

posed by new technologies and that they have a backup plan in case anything goes wrong. Digital

records are stored on a computer's data system or on the cloud, both of which are more vulnerable

to hacking. As patient profiles and their data offer valuable information that may be sold, being

hacked is not impossible. The generational divide among nursing staff will become more

pronounced when new technology is developed. The bulk of registered nurses (RN) working in

15
hospitals today are baby boomers, who may be less willing to adopt new gadgets and technology.

Older nurses may decide to retire as a result of these technological developments because they

believe that too much is changing. Overall, nursing staff should be more accepting of technological

innovations if they can enhance patient care and experience. As more facilities incorporate new

programs into their health systems, technological advancements are growing in popularity.

16
V. References:

The Impact of Emerging Technology on Nursing Care: Warp Speed Ahead | OJIN: The Online
Journal of Issues in Nursing. (n.d.).
https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Ta
bleofContents/Vol-18-2013/No2-May-2013/Impact-of-Emerging-Technology.html

Solodev. (n.d.). How Technology is Impacting Nursing Practice. How Technology is Impacting
Nursing Practice in 2023. https://avanthealthcare.com/blog/how-technology-is-impacting-
nursing-
practice.stml#:~:text=Electronic%20health%20records%20(EHRs)%2C,makes%20their%20data
%20more%20accessible.

17