Healthcare Informatics

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APPLYING HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOP A PLAN TO MANAGE A PATIENT FROM ACUTE CARE TO HOME CARE AND INTO SOCIETY

Every patient requires a care plan that transitions them from acute care (such as Emergency Room, Intensive Care Unit, Telemetry Room, Operation Room etc) to home care and eventual integration into society. The student is advised to research on the What, the Who and the How's of patient care in an acute setting, during recovery at home and in society as they are essential for the continuum of care in order to achieve the desired outcome.

Further reading should answer the following questions;

• THE WHAT: What is the condition of the patient upon presentation to the acute care environment?
• What is the goal of the care process or patient management within the acute care setting?, the home setting and in society?
• THE WHO: Who will be responsible for caring for this patient at every stage i.e. doctors, nurses, pharmacies, family care givers, social workers and even the patient themselves (The roles and responsibilities should be defined)
• THE HOW: Describe the parameters being monitored and why, how they are to be monitored and end points expected and how progress will be evaluated
• How medications are initiated and reconciled with whatever the patient was taking prior to admission to the acute care facility if any,
• How will the patient and team members access patient's health information from acute care to home to other care givers in society and how will this information be shared amongst and between all care givers including the patient

The student should familiarize themselves with the concept of a patient care plan and its key components.

In the development of a care plan, a student should gain an understanding of the role played by health care technology for the diagnosis of the patient condition, the monitoring of the goals and outcomes, the recording and follow up of orders or prescriptions made for the care of the patient and the monitoring of vital patient parameters which indicate progress on the clinical ...