Why is information important in nursing?

A nurse acts as the assistant of a doctor as well as helping to keep the functioning of a hospital running smoothly. A competent nurse is capable of providing care to patients following the instructions of a doctor.

Some of the functions of a nurse include injecting patients, administering drugs, keeping of hospital records, as well as providing care to sick hospitalized patients. People also request the services of nurses to take care of their bedridden ailing family members.

Nurses must have an insight into the field of medicine to be able to provide good quality and efficient services.

With all the advancements in technology, all the various fields of life, including the nursing industry, are using technological devices to enhance their services.

Importance of Nurse

One of the most popular forms of technology among nurses is information technology. Information technology (IT) is a term used to refer to all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use information in its various forms.

The upcoming generations of nurses are using information technology to help them in their work while the older generation is finding it hard to keep up. Let us look at the importance of information technology in nursing.

Helps In Record Keeping

By using computers, a nurse is able to store all the information records of hospitals and print out official medical documents.

Computers help nurses to quickly record the information of new patients as well as store the medical history of all the patients of the hospital.

In the past nurses spent long hours filling up paperwork for the records of patents. With computers, that tedious process has been eradicated. Through IT, nurses are able to fill discharge and transfer charts for patients as well communicate that information to other departments of the hospital.

Ensuring The Safety Of Patients

One of the major causes of preventable deaths among patients is the use of faulty health care policy systems by hospitals. Preventable deaths can occur in various ways including nursing mistakes such as administration of wrong medicine.

With information technology, a nurse is able to view the medical history of the patient. This helps to prevent giving a medicine to the patient that may lead to premature death because of an allergic reaction. Also by using devices such as phones or webcams, the nurse can contact the doctor to ask for the required dosage of a patient.

This can be done when the nurse is not sure of the recommended dosage, and thus prevent deaths that are caused by overdosing,

Enhancing The Services Of A Nurse

Various computer software programs are developed with the specific intention of enhancing the services of a nurse.

One such program that is of great help to nurses is one that helps assess the symptoms of a patient to come up with the correct diagnosis.

Through this computer software, the nurse is required to enter the primary complaint of a patient, the family medical history, and other assessments. The computer then gives a list of various diagnoses that help the nurse to settle on the right one.

Bottom Line

‘It is clear that the importance of information technology in nursing is vital for greatly improving the way nurses provide their services to patients as well as reduce serious errors that may result in death.

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