Technology creates an incredible amount of opportunities for healthcare
Healthcare is not exactly known for its progressive approach in terms of IT and innovation, and it’s alright if that changes. In fact it has to change, because IT can make the difference in the future of healthcare. The greatest added value of care technology is that it makes health care a lot more personal. Technology can take over human actions, or make them more efficient, which means the healthcare professional has more time for the patient. People, on the other hand, are often scared that care will become more impersonal. Think of an e-consultation, for example, or support robots in geriatric and home care. Those replace human contact, which puts patients at risk of growing lonely. It appears, however, that enough patients do not experience this at all. The technology provides them with a sense of control, privacy, and regained independence. After all, they can determine for themselves when they want to be washed, for example.
“An elderly lady I once cared for had all sorts of sensors in her home. They had been installed by her daughter, this didn’t come from healthcare. The lady often suffered from urinary infections. With these sensors, the daughter could see how often she got up at night, and if it was often she probably had a urinary infection. Then someone could come and help her. That’s amazing!”
Another example of the added value of care technology, is in dressing wounds. With smart glasses, an expert can observe whether everything is going well in real-time. This saves a great deal of money and time. It is important, though, that the technology is a support, not a replacement.
Implementation of care technology requires a well-thought-out process
Despite the proven added value of care technology, the implementation process still has its risks. People are often still too scared to fully embrace the technology. During a pilot, I once had to call a COPD patient who lived only 500 meters away. Because of that, it took me longer to go to the office than to go to the patient, which was crazy. That’s why I still ended up going to his house, or he would drop by mine. The result of the pilot: video calls weren’t a success. Research like that isn’t representative, of course. It’s a shame that technology is quickly pushed aside again because of studies like that one.
I also notice that care professionals often don’t know themselves what is available. Care technology is now often seen as ‘extra’ by care professionals – it’s there, and it’s fun, but there’s a tendency to just continue in the traditional way.
Healthcare technology can also be a burden
There’s a large amount of care apps available with which things can be registered. This large number can also scare people away – it has to remain simple and manageable. Senior citizens, especially, won’t appreciate it if things get (too) complicated. But it’s also important for care professionals that the app is easy to use. I once had to use an app at short notice. The usability of the app, however, was low. And despite there being a course available on how to use the app, it remained complicated. It’s important to pay attention to this, because there’s also resistance amongst care professionals: they just want to provide care, and often aren’t exactly eager to learn complicated technological processes. It’s important to carefully research an app, and to prove its effects. And if an app turns out to work, or not, it’s important that those results are shared. That’s also something which doesn’t happen often enough now.
“A good compass, with which you can check which technology is available per affliction and what its added value is, would in itself be a great added value.”
Nurses should be more aware of the technological possibilities
By developing new technologies, it’s becoming easier to gain insight into a patient’s situation in one go. Think of habits, an overview of medication, and history. The care professional of the future should know a lot more about the technology. It’s important that this is implemented into education. At MBO-level (secondary vocational training), not enough attention is paid to (the added value of) care technology. Integrating technology would make matters easier and increase the quality of the course. E-learnings can help graduates expand and brush up on their knowledge of technology. It is important, then, to find out which information is the most relevant for which care professional..
Give it time
As care professionals, we know perfectly well that there are many technological possibilities for future-proofing healthcare. But give it time. Give people time to learn, and don’t start imposing things on care professionals. After all, we have to make do with what we have within healthcare. And we must keep things simple.
