We Can but Should We?
We Can But Should We?
Laurel Lotterhos
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR361: Information Systems in Healthcare
May, 2013
We Can But Should We? Technology is an ever-changing part of our society that has affected the healthcare profession greatly. It seems that every few months a new technology is introduced to improve quality care and safety in every aspect of healthcare, whether it be inpatient services or emergency services. “Trends in the rise of smartphone adoption and usage by the young and the old in the United States provide a new frontier for computer science and engineering to develop applications that allow the sharing of life-saving information during an emergency in ways that were not possible before” (Aguinaga, 2012). QR codes are a new form of technology that is being trialed by emergency workers to obtain crucial patient information needed to provide proper care in urgent situations. “QR codes are two-dimensional matrix codes that differ from the conventional barcodes, because a QR code is capable of storing up to several hundred times more information” (Aguinaga, 2012). This new form of technology has many advantages and disadvantages, which can lead to many perspective patients being weary of creating their own QR code.
Advantages
QR codes are created by the patient containing only the information that the patient wishes for the emergency responders to know. This type of technology can come in handy if the patient were unable to communicate their medical history in emergent situations.
“Individuals can use the app to enter the information they want to encode and quickly generate a basic code image to place on their lock screens. Health and medical records are maintained online and offer a feature to generate a more comprehensive code image to replace the basic one. The objective is to offer individuals the option to have a code image that contains all of their health and medical information they choose to share. This feature of
Laurel Lotterhos
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR361: Information Systems in Healthcare
May, 2013
We Can But Should We? Technology is an ever-changing part of our society that has affected the healthcare profession greatly. It seems that every few months a new technology is introduced to improve quality care and safety in every aspect of healthcare, whether it be inpatient services or emergency services. “Trends in the rise of smartphone adoption and usage by the young and the old in the United States provide a new frontier for computer science and engineering to develop applications that allow the sharing of life-saving information during an emergency in ways that were not possible before” (Aguinaga, 2012). QR codes are a new form of technology that is being trialed by emergency workers to obtain crucial patient information needed to provide proper care in urgent situations. “QR codes are two-dimensional matrix codes that differ from the conventional barcodes, because a QR code is capable of storing up to several hundred times more information” (Aguinaga, 2012). This new form of technology has many advantages and disadvantages, which can lead to many perspective patients being weary of creating their own QR code.
Advantages
QR codes are created by the patient containing only the information that the patient wishes for the emergency responders to know. This type of technology can come in handy if the patient were unable to communicate their medical history in emergent situations.
“Individuals can use the app to enter the information they want to encode and quickly generate a basic code image to place on their lock screens. Health and medical records are maintained online and offer a feature to generate a more comprehensive code image to replace the basic one. The objective is to offer individuals the option to have a code image that contains all of their health and medical information they choose to share. This feature of
References: Aquinaga, S., & Poellabauer, C. (2012). Method for Privacy-Protecting Display and Exchange of Emergency Information on Mobile Devices. University of Notre Dame. www3.nd.edu/~saguinag/baja/qrcscanposterpaper.pdf Jackson, S. (2012, June 2). Are QR codes in your hospital’s clinical future?. Fierce Mobile Healthcare. http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/are-qr- codes-your-hospitals-clinical-future/2012-06-04 Nunez, C., & Castro, D. (2011). Management Information System of Medical Equipment Using Mobile Devices. IOP Science. http://www.iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/313/1/012003/pdf/1742-6596_313_1_012003.pdf