Mobile technology in healthcare is the use of mobile devices to monitor and gather health information, as well as provide remote care. It has become more prevalent and popular in healthcare due to the recent break of the global pandemic, reducing the risk of infection and providing medical assistance at lesser costs than regular hospital visits (Brotman & Kotloff, 2021). Mobile technologies such as smartphones, digital watches, or tablets are very convenient for receiving and storing real-time health-related information in an outpatient care setting.
Potential Impact on Nurse Practice
For nurses, mobile technology is an excellent tool for improving communication with a patient. Additionally, besides reducing the risk of infection, such technology can save the time of both the patient and the healthcare provider (Brotman & Kotloff, 2021). Moreover, opposite to the common belief, a majority of older adults also prefer using mobile devices, which can make nurses’ work easier in many outpatient care scenarios (Kuerbis et al., 2017). Furthermore, mobile technologies can be used for contacting colleagues, providing more possibilities for communication and bonding.
Legal, Privacy, and Ethical Considerations
Due to the pandemic and social distancing, the use of mobile technology has been permitted on a federal level with few restrictions. However, apart from COVID-19-related instances, mobile technology’s popularity may take a tremendous toll in the future without appropriate support from the government (Brotman & Kotloff, 2021). One of the issues related to that could be privacy and data protection since ensuring the safety of patients’ information may be not only costly but also quite challenging (Mather et al., 2017). In addition, implementing mobile technologies in the national healthcare system would require many changes to be made in the Code of Ethics and healthcare delivery quality evaluation and assessment.
References
Brotman, J. J., & Kotloff, R. M. (2021). Providing outpatient telehealth services in the United States: Before and during Coronavirus disease 2019. Chest, 159(4), 1548–1558.
Kuerbis, A., Mulliken, A., Muench, F., Moore, A. A., & Gardner, D. (2017). Older adults and mobile technology: Factors that enhance and inhibit utilization in the context of behavioral health. Mental Health and Addiction Research, 2(2), 1-11.
Mather, C. A., Gale, F., & Cummings, E. A. (2017). Governing mobile technology use for continuing professional development in the Australian nursing profession. BMC Nursing, 16(1), 1-11.