Healthcare sector has been under a lot of pressure to deliver quality healthcare to patients whenever they visit these facilities. This pressure has been massive among nurses taking care of patients who are at critical stages. According to Bramer1, nurses always find themselves in very awkward situation when there is lack of proper communication between themselves and the patients. A patient who is at critical condition may want to express himself of herself, but when he or she cannot talk, it becomes complex to understand him or her. In such situations, it is possible for the nurse to fail to conceptualize the patient wants.
Another pressure comes from the friends and relatives of the patient. When they visit their patient, they will always have their own demands. For instance, they may want to spend much time with the patient as a way of offering him or her emotional support believing that this would be of benefit to the patient. They will also want the nurse to explain the condition of the patient, when the patient can possibly come out of the bed, and for the nurse to do more in order to elevate the condition of the patient.
Whenever the patient or the relatives’ feels that the hospital has not done enough to make the condition of the patient improve, it is the nurse who would always come under pressure. This makes it complex for the nurses to deliver quality health care because they may feel intimidated. This needs a sense of leadership on the part of the leaders in order to manage the situation.
In order to employ leadership, there is need to have efficiency and effectiveness in the management of the patient. It is only when there is this efficiency that a nurse or any other health professional will have the confidence when addressing the patient, their friends and relatives. This is because when a patient or their relatives demands of relevant information regarding their condition, it is important to give the right information. The healthcare professional should be in a position to explain to these individual all the relevant information they need. This will help the patient and his or her relative develop trust and respect for the professional.
They will feel that the professional knows what he or she is doing, and this will calm their nerves. This will help in improving levels of confidence among the nurses or other responsible care givers. This makes it possible to become leaders in this field. They can direct both the patients and their relations with ease, and this makes it easy to offer their services to the patients with a lot of effectiveness.
The answer to this lies with technology. As Bramer2 says, technology has enabled health experts to come up with artificial intelligence to enable healthcare providers improve in various fronts. This scholar says that artificial intelligence has been used in the medical sector in various fronts. One such sector has been in detection of pulmonary infections among patients and their treatment. This means that whenever a patient suffers from pulmonary infection, it will take a shorter process to detect this health complication and finds its remedy than when doctors rely on their experience alone. Another importance of artificial intelligence is in processing of patients’ data.
Using technology in the management of patients’ data makes the process become more efficient and very reliable. Data processed this way is easy to analyze, to share with the relevant departments for the purpose of comparison with other similar cases, or to retrieve whenever there is need for this. This makes it easy for the nurses to handle these cases with a lot of ease. Cases of misinterpretation among the healthcare providers are also minimized because in most of the cases, this technology would interpret the condition and give the appropriate direction that should be taken by the healthcare provider.
Bramer3 says that artificial intelligence helps in handling more sophisticated medical issues within a healthcare center. This means that when used, this technology makes it possible for the healthcare provider to process data in an efficient manner and come up with a correct diagnosis within a shorter time than when a doctor uses other means. Artificial intelligence has also been very vital in enhancing communication, especially when it comes to managing patients who are not able to speak. It is always a tiring process for both the patient and the nurse or doctor when there is a complete breakdown in communication.
A patient may want to pass a message to the nurse, but when he or she is unable to speak, and then they become devastated when their message is misinterpreted. This is especially so for the terminally ill patients who believe that they do not have a chance to continue living. On the side of the health practitioner, it also becomes frustrating when important information cannot be retrieved from a patient because of his or her inability to speak. With artificial intelligence, this problem finds a perfect solution. It makes it easy for the practitioners to communicate with the patients and address their issues without any misinterpretation.
As Bramer4 says, as a medical practitioner, there is a need to assume leadership position in order to be able to manage patients and their relatives. A nurse should be able to convince the patient and the relatives that he or she is in control. To gain this trust, the patient and the relatives must be convinced that the nurse is competent and his or her message can be trusted. This approach of gaining leadership through expertise is very important for health practitioners. Artificial intelligence offers these health practitioners the ability to improve their expertise in this field.
It is important to note that artificial intelligence does not come to replace doctors. As Bramer5 says, artificial intelligence has created what people refer to as virtual doctors and virtual patients. This has created what is referred to as e-medicine where a patient would go for e-consulting and get medical prescription after their condition is explained to them through online means. However, this does not mean that this technology has replaced doctors in addressing the needs of patients.
This technology comes to improve the efficiency of doctors, and to reduce pressure on healthcare facilities. The patients whose conditions are not serious can use e-consultation to have their issues addressed without necessarily visiting healthcare centers. Because of the reduced congestion, it becomes easy for the healthcare providers to offer quality services to their patients who visit these facilities. Using this technology, it is possible for the doctors and the nurses to have a perfect diagnosis of the complication within a very short time. This makes the process of offering quality medication much easier and faster than when they are not used.
In the current society, technology has become very important in addressing various issues in various fields. In the field of healthcare management, technology is proving to be at the core of quality healthcare provision. It does not only offer and effective way of managing patients data, but also helps in quick diagnosis and treatment of patients within a healthcare institution. This technology has also proven to be vital in the field of mental healthcare.
The technology helps in understanding the possible psychological problems of the patients, making treatment of such patients much easier. As Bramer6 says, artificial intelligence is currently used in the military in what is referred to as virtual patients. This application was introduced in the military due to the rising cases of suicide among the military personnel. Using this technology, it is easier to detect possible risk for suicide among the officers. This technology offers a psychological solution to such patients because it would help in detecting the possibility of a patient committing suicide before it really takes place.
The above discussion demonstrates that there is need for leadership among health practitioners. For the doctors and nurses to offer proper healthcare for their patients, they must always be seen as leaders in their field. The patients and their friends must trust their statements, and believe that they will always do the right thing. Artificial intelligence helps in increasing their efficiency, thereby boosting their morale and ability to win this trust.
Bibliography
Bramer, A., Artificial intelligence: An international perspective, Berlin, Springer, 2009.
Footnotes
- A. Bramer, Artificial intelligence: An international perspective, Berlin, Springer, 2009, p. 96.
- Ibid, p. 107.
- Ibid, p. 114.
- Ibid, p. 115.
- Ibid, p. 119.
- Ibid, p. 121.