Free Essay Example - Handheld Computer

Clinical research has currently suggested the use of handheld computers as a way of promoting decision-making and further promoting healthcare quality to patients. There have been issues of debates and dilemmas regarding whether the importation of technology would serve as a way of promoting decision-making among the healthcare professional. The article investigates the effectiveness of the use of handheld computers among healthcare professionals. The findings reveal that it is an important tool in making proper decisions. This paper is a review of the information presented in the article with emphasis on the change of perceptions concerning its effectiveness and the research gap on the same.

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Lessons Learned from Reading the Article

The information published in the article, the use of handheld computers in clinical practice: a systematic review, reveal adequate information regarding the potential hand-held in improving decision in a healthcare setting. While healthcare professionals have preferred the use of smartphones and tablets for informing patient care, handheld computers are emerging to be a more significant tool in supporting various aspects of clinical diagnostic and management aspects (Mickan et al., 2014). Subsequently, the use of paper-based interventions is currently losing attention among such professionals. This justifies why there is an increasing number of healthcare professionals who embrace the use of handheld computers for offering instant access to valuable information. This also helps to explain why the field of healthcare has currently adopted the approach of information-seeking and decision-support systems with limited attention given to the communication aspects.

Change of Perception of Handheld Computers

The article has influenced to change my perception of the use of handheld computers in a number of ways. For instance, since the tool utilizes a technological innovation, I initially believed the computers would not be effective since technology is always associated with flaws regarding service delivery. However, the article introduces new knowledge regarding its significance. The study confirmed that the use of handheld computers is very important for healthcare professionals in the context of decision-making. On the same note, this has also revealed that the electronic way of handling patient matters is better than the formerly used paper approach. Mickan et al. (2014) revealed that the health practitioners who embraced the given form of technology made more informed decision making with regard to healthcare delivery. I, therefore, have a new perception that the use of computers gas the potential of improving the quality of patient care and it is, therefore, important to be adopted by the care providers.

Handheld computers and Clinical Decision-Making

With reference to the findings published in the article, handheld computers can be used to enhance decision making in a clinical setting. There is adequate evidence, which shows that considerable statistical significance on how the efficiency and effectiveness of doctors improve when they embrace the use of handheld comput ers. Mickan et al. (2014) provided that when the healthcare professionals utilize the features of a handheld computer for the access of the information in the clinical environments they offer superior and quality services. On the same note, the clinical knowledge of doctors and nurses tend to improve significantly relative to the case of their peers who are reluctant to embrace the features of the technology. It is important to note that the professionals who consider the use of these technological tools have made great steps in terms of understanding clinical problems and how to approach them. Most impertinently, the use of computers has enabled doctors to implement more knowledgeable actions regarding the occurrence of infectious disease.

Further research on Handheld Computers regarding clinical Decision-Making

Even as much as handheld computers have the potential of promoting decision-making among healthcare professionals, there is some extent to which their application may not be clear to the professionals and society as a whole. This leads to the occurrence of the research gap, which represents what is not clearly known about the technology in a clinical setting. The research article shows how effective the handheld computers are but fails to indicate the probable faults, which may arise as a result of their use in healthcare, and the potential ways of reacting on the same (Mickan et al., 2014). Therefore, further research should focus on determining the bests strategies through which the healthcare institutions' management can adjust in case the technology in the handheld computers fail to emerge effective for their intended purpose. This should, therefore, serve as the major implication for future research on the topic in question.

Conclusion

The field of healthcare is now embracing the technology of various forms one of which occur in the form of handheld computers. Their emergence sees the use of papers to diminish considerably based on the perception that the latter has the potential of promoting sufficient decision making among the healthcare service providers. Their significance is further confirmed after making a comparison with the use of paper, which of far worse. However, the current research on technology in healthcare leaves some gap, which may lead to great ethical consideration. Therefore, more is expected from future research to confirm the reliable functionality from handheld computers.

Reference

Mickan, S., Atherton, H., Roberts, N., Heneghan, C., & Tilson, J. (2014). Use of handheld computers in clinical practice: a systematic review. BMC Medical Informatics And Decision Making, 14(1). DOI: 10.1186/1472-6947-14-56