Introduction
Technological innovations expand the boundaries of healthcare to a great extent, allowing nurses to address the issues that used to seem impossible to resolve. For instance, the use of blockchain technology as a tool for improving healthcare services should be seen as a valid opportunity. By integrating blockchain technology into healthcare, one will be able to promote user-oriented research in particular areas of healthcare, as well as prevent instances of drug counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical system.
The introduction of technology into the contemporary healthcare setting will provide an array of benefits for citizens. For instance, one will be able to build a user-friendly framework for addressing healthcare services and receiving the required assistance. As a result, the instances of health complications caused by delays in delivering the necessary help will be prevented. Furthermore, the proposed innovation will launch a range of long-term changes due to the high levels of resilience and the opportunity to enhance the security of data.
The concept of blockchain is quite basic, yet it has only recently been introduced into the contemporary data management setting. Rennock, Cohn, and Butcher (2018) define blockchain as the mechanism that “facilitates peer-to-peer transactions without the need for an intermediary or a centralized authority to update and maintain the information generated by the transactions” (p. 35). Furthermore, there is evidence that, by incorporating blockchain into the healthcare realm, one will enhance the efficacy of data transfer and the safety of patients’ personal information (Ekblaw, Halamka, & Lippman, 2016). Therefore, the described tool has to be included in the range of tools used in the healthcare environment.
The rationale for the Choice
The new options for data transfer and security can be regarded as the essential reasons for integrating blockchain into the modern healthcare setting. Blockchain is a comparatively recent innovation, and it is believed to produce tangible effects only after the passage of a certain amount of time, yet it provides chances of enhancing data transfer and security. The identified options are critical for maintaining the well-being of patients within the modern healthcare system.
Due to the exposure of the information contained in the Electronic Health Records (EJR) system to the threats of cyberattacks, it is essential to ensure the safety of patients’ personal data. The use of blockchain as a tool for enhancing information security will create extra options for maintaining safety at the required level. Particularly, studies show that the integration of blockchain into the healthcare system will ensure that medical records stored in the EHR system are not changed (Till, Peters, Afshar, & Meara, 2017). Thus, the integrity of healthcare services is facilitated respectively.
Furthermore, the application of blockchain in the healthcare context will help manage the issue of patient consent faster and monitor micropayments that are entered into the system. The options mentioned above will affect the quality of care positively due to the chance to enhance the control levels within the system and supervise the processes that occur within it with the greatest degree of precision. Herein lies the rationale for incorporating blockchain technology into the healthcare setting. The suggested innovation will set the premises for a significant redesign of the approach toward safety and security processes, at the same time managing patients’ data more effectively.
Current Relevance of Material
Since the debates around the issue of integrating blockchain technologies and the associated technological opportunities linked to IT into healthcare have been continuing, the material located in the course of the analysis is quite relevant. For instance, in their study, Yue, Wang, Jin, Li, and Jiang (2016) address the problems of integrating blockchain technologies into the modern nursing setting. It should be mentioned that there are several arguments against the integration of blockchain and similar technologies into the healthcare setting.
The fact that the technology will require waiting for an ample amount of time for it to produce any effect is typically brought up as a problem (Till et al., 2017). Indeed, when introducing blockchain technologies into the realm of healthcare, one should focus on long-term changes rather than on short-term ones (Yue et al., 2016).
Nonetheless, the opportunities for determining patients’ genetic profiles, securing their personal health data, and maintaining the efficacy of financial transactions within the healthcare network system have to be recognized as doubtless advantages of the technology. The use of blockchain in healthcare, as well as the active promotion of other technological innovations, should be seen as a crucial step toward improving the efficacy of care.
By introducing non-incremental innovations into the modern healthcare context, one will inevitably lead to a noticeable shift in nurses’ perception of quality, thus causing a large improvement. Therefore, technologies such as blockchain should be deemed important devices for enhancing the efficacy of care. The problem of data management in the healthcare system should be addressed specifically since the recent changes and the use of EHR as data storage entail numerous challenges for information safety and transfer.
How Technology is Integrated into Clinical Practice
In the medical setting, IT tools will need to be integrated in order to advance the quality of the provided services and enhance the process of data transfer and management. The application of technological innovations has to serve as the means of addressing the current issues in handling data. For instance, ensuring that patients’ personal information should not be disclosed to any third party will be more effective with the application of IT tools such as blockchain. In addition, the integration of tools such as EHR into every healthcare setting should be seen as a necessity.
Another critical step in introducing IT innovations into the context of the present-day healthcare system will involve providing staff members with opportunities for training the relevant knowledge and skills. Courses during which nurses and healthcare practitioners, as well as other healthcare employees, will receive the necessary information about managing IT innovations, will have to be created. As a result, one may expect a rapid increase in the employees’ understanding of how the suggested technological innovations work and how they can be used to improve the provided services.
One may expect noticeable resistance toward change among staff members. The described phenomenon may occur as a result of the fear of failing to acquire the necessary skills, as well as the lack of opportunities for professional growth and the resulting absence of enthusiasm for expanding the range of skills. However, the described problem can be addressed by introducing a flexible leadership approach that will motivate employees to adapt to the changing environments and be ready to meet the rising demand for quality healthcare services.
Using Technological Advances in the Clinical Setting
To use the IT tools such as blockchain and similar technologies in the clinical environment, one will need to focus on the opportunities that the specified technological innovation and similar tools open for research. For example, the “transparent, decentralized, secure ‘trustless’ manner” that the specified tool provides can ensure the effective management of data in the course of evidence-based practice (Benchoufi & Ravaud, 2017, p. 335). As a result, the analysis of changes in patient’s conditions in the clinical setting will become more accurate and yield improved results. Consequently, opportunities for improving healthcare services will open.
Moreover, the specified change will imply a shift in the perception of how patients’ personal data should be managed. While with the introduction of EHR, problems with securing patients’ data have partially been addressed, further enhancement of information security is required to reduce the threat of data leakage. The introduction of IT tools into the clinical is setting, in turn, will allow enhancing the security of data transfer significantly, leading to a vast improvement in information management techniques. Thus, the incorporation of IT advances and the associated tools should be seen as a critical step in updating the contemporary healthcare setting and reducing the threats to which patients are exposed in it.
Conclusion
Applying innovative technology to resolve some of the contemporary healthcare issues is an important step toward enhancing the quality of care. Therefore, policies aimed at the further integration of IT innovations into the healthcare setting should be recognized as essential. Once the foundation for a meaningful change is made, the efficacy of healthcare services is bound to rise as a result of more expeditious management of data and a safer environment for storing patients’ information.
References
Benchoufi, M., & Ravaud, P. (2017). Blockchain technology for improving clinical research quality. Trials, 18(1), 335-339. Web.
Ekblaw, A., Halamka, J. D., & Lippman, A. (2016). A case study for blockchain in healthcare: “MedRec” prototype for electronic health records and medical research data. In Proceedings of IEEE open & big data conference (pp. 1-25). New York City, NY: IEEE.
Rennock, M. J., Cohn, A., & Butcher, J. R. (2018). BlockChain technology. The Journal (Litigation), 1(1), 35-44.
Till, B. M., Peters, A. W., Afshar, S., & Meara, J. G. (2017). From blockchain technology to global health equity: Can cryptocurrencies finance universal health coverage? BMJ Global Health, 2(4), 1-11.
Yue, X., Wang, H., Jin, D., Li, M., & Jiang, W. (2016). Healthcare data gateways: Found healthcare intelligence on blockchain with novel privacy risk control. Journal of Medical Systems, 40(10), 218-224. Web.