Medical Field Collaboration and Communication Are Two

Medical Field Collaboration and communication are two keys to effectively assisting patients as they transition from one level of care to another. This is true when the patient is transitioning from a different department within the same medical facility, or when the patient is transitioning from one health care or medical facility to another. It is during the transition period that a lot of errors and emissions take place, and therefore a focus on this event should be developed and addressed by those medical personnel closest to the situation.

One recent article states that "the need for collaboratively determined care is essential for avoiding errors and promoting quality" (Tschannen, Kalisch, 2009, p. 796). The same study found that strong collaborative efforts and the relationship strength between nurses and doctors will often lead to shorter hospital stays for the patient. Shorter hospital stays and more effective treatments are a big inducement for collaboration. With the advent of the internet, changes to the manner in which patients are handled and managed have happened at breathtaking speeds.

One of the latest innovations that could revolutionize the manner in which patient records are initiated and maintained is the personal digital assistant (PDA). Using a PDA to record a patient's vital information from the initiation of a medical record would alleviate many of the errors and omissions that take place. Another technological advance that goes hand-in-hand with the PDA is the EPICare Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system that focuses on creating and maintaining a "one-patient, one-record' (EPIC, 2011) system.

The system was created to ensure that there will be only one medical record created for each individual, no matter where the individual is located (in the United States). The problem is that in economy such as the one that currently exists, the money to buy these electronic devices is not as readily available as it was in previous years.

However, a recent study found that due to the HITECH Act, "every hospital in the United States will be eligible for a minimum of $2 million & #8230;to buy and use electronic health records" (Bau, 2011, p. 15). The efficiency of such a system is quite evident; if nursing personnel are not spending as much of their time creating and updating patient records, it could portend a more medically effective nursing environment.

Based on the fact that an IT project cycle will last approximately 5 years, one could hazard a guess that the PDA, and the EPICare System are only the harbinger of other exciting electronic breakthroughs and innovations that will be beneficial to the medical industry. The current Federal vision of a "one-payer" system may never come to fruition, but certainly a more collaborative and sharing environment will come to pass with the advent of technology that makes it much easier to do so.

On the negative side of the Federal vision is the fact that anytime a big government entity becomes involved in anything more complex than waking up in the morning, the resulting chaos can become mind-boggling. One can only be pessimistic about the future of medical care in America now that the government has focused so much effort on screwing it up. It really does not matter how much or how little technology is introduced, if the government has anything to do with it, it will become bogged down in mediocrity.

Hopefully the politicians in Washington get their heads out of their butts.