DIGITAL MEDICINE: MOBILE DEVICES, WEARABLES, TELEHEALTH,

TELEMEDICINE – THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES

Preparing for her run, Susan tightened her fitness watch on her wrist. After experiencing and

having received treatment for a heart arrhythmia, Susan was encouraged to wear the watch that

not only would alert her if she experienced an irregular heartbeat, but the device would also

report the findings to her medical team. Susan felt comfortable going on her run, knowing her

device would monitor her heart.

Digital medicine has changed how patients monitor their health. These advancements have

allowed patients to take an active role with increased control and agency over their healthcare

and well-being. Digital medicine has also allowed patients to communicate with healthcare

providers in different ways that help to facilitate ongoing, continuous, and real-time

conversations that lead to data-informed treatment approaches and healthcare plans. Thus, these

advancements have shifted and changed how healthcare is offered and practiced both for the

patient and healthcare provider.

For this Discussion, you will explore the use of digital medicine in healthcare organizations and

nursing practice. Reflect on the use, implementation, and the barriers for digital medicine and

consider how these devices have changed, or will continue to change, healthcare organizations

and nursing practice.

TO PREPARE

 Review the Learning Resources associated with digital medicine.

 Consider the use, implementation, and barriers of digital medicine for healthcare

organizations and nursing practice.

BY DAY 3 OF WEEK 6

Post a cohesive response to the following:

 Explain whether COVID-19 has impacted the use or non-use of digital medicine.

Be specific.

 Explain how wearables, devices, and telehealth may contribute to Big Data.

 What are some of the challenges you might have faced during implementation of

digital medicine in your healthcare organization or nursing practice? 

 What are some of the challenges identified in the “Turning the Body Into a

Wire” article by Sen, Maity, & Das (2020)?

 Recommend at least two strategies for overcoming these challenges/barriers now and

in the future. Be specific and provide examples.

 

Resources

 

 Sipes, C. (2020). Project management for the advanced practice nurse (2nd ed.).

Springer Publishing.

o Chapter 5, “Implementation/Execution: Phase 3” (pp. 121–146)

 American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informaticsLinks to an external

site.: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.).

o “The Future of Nursing Informatics” (pp. 52–62)

o “Standard 5: Implementation” (pp. 73–74)

o “Standard 5a: Coordination of Activities” (p. 75)

o “Standard 6: Evaluation” (p. 78)

 

 Islam, M., Mahmud, S., Muhammad, L. J., Islam, M. R., Nooruddin, S., & Ayon, S. I.

(2020). Wearable technology to assist the patients infected with novel

coronavirus (COVID-19). SN Computer ScienceLinks to an external site., 320.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-020-00335-4

 Kruse, C., Betancourt, J., Ortiz, S., Valdes Luna, S. M., Bamrah, I. K., & Segovia, N.

(2019). Barriers to the use of mobile health in improving health outcomes in

developing countries: Systematic reviewLinks to an external site.. Journal of

Medical Internet Research, 21(10), Article e13263. doi:10.2196/13263

 Otto, L., Harst, L., Timpel, P., Wollschlaeger, B., Richter, P., & Schlieter, H.

(2020). Defining and delimitating telemedicine and related terms – an

ontology-based classificationLinks to an external site.. Studies in Health

Technology and Informatics, 268, 113–122. doi:10.3233/SHTI200010

 Sen, S., Maity, S., & Das, D. (2020). Turning the body into a wireLinks to an

external site.. IEEE Spectrum.  https://spectrum.ieee.org/turning-the-body-

into-a-wire

 Smital, L., Haider, C. R., Vitek, M., Leinveber, P., Jurak, P., Nemcova, A., Smisek,

R., Marsanova, L., Provaznik, I., Felton, C. L., Gilbert, B. K., & Holmes, D. R., III

(2020). Real-time quality assessment of long-term ECG signals recorded by

wearables in free-living conditionsLinks to an external site.. IEEE Transactions on

Biomedical Engineering, 67(10), 2721–2734. doi:10.1109/TBME.2020.2969719

 Tully, J., Dameff, C., & Longhurst, C. A. (2020). Wave of wearables: Clinical

management of patients and the future of connected medicine. Clinics in

Laboratory MedicineLinks to an external site., 40(1), 69–82.

doi:10.1016/j.cll.2019.11.004

 Yang, X., Wang, X., Li, X., Gu, D., Liang, C., Li, K., Zhang, G., & Zhong, J.

(2020). Exploring emerging IoT technologies in smart health research: A

knowledge graph analysisLinks to an external site.. BMC Medical Informatics and

Decision Making, 20, 260. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-020-01278-9

 Wu, M., & Luo, J. (2019). Wearable technology applications in healthcare: A

literature reviewLinks to an external site.. HIMSS.

https://www.himss.org/resources/wearable-technology-applications-

healthcare-literature-review

 

Other Resources

 

 Bettencourt, E. (2018). The future of nursing technology is exciting.

https://diversitynursing.com/the-future-of-nursing-technology-is-

exciting/#:~:text=The%20Future%20of%20Nursing%20Technology%20Is%20

Exciting.%20adminericaB,advancements%20in%20medical%20science%2C%2

0telecommunications%2C%20and%20even%20

 Donevant, S. B., Hilfinger Messias, D. K., & Estrada, R. D. (2018). Utilization of

mobile applications in collaborative patient-provider monitoring of chronic

health conditions: An examination of three theoretical frameworks to guide

practice. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 3(2), 6–11.

 Goldstein, K. M., Zullig, L. L., Dedert, E. A., Tabriz, A. A., Brearly, T. W., Raitz, G.,

Sata, S. S., Whited, J. D., Bosworth, H. B., Gordon, A. M., Nagi, A., Williams, J. W.,

& Gierisch, J. M. (2018). Telehealth interventions designed for women: An

evidence map. Journal of General Internal MedicineLinks to an external site.,

33(12), 2191–2200. doi:10.1007/s11606-018-4655-8

 National Institute on Aging. (2017). NIH initiative tests in-home technology to help

older adults age in placeLinks to an external site..

https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/nih-initiative-tests-home-technology-help-

older-adults-age-place

 Williams, J. K., Feero, W. G., Leonard, D. G. B., & Coleman, B. (2017).

Implementation science, genomic precision medicine, and improved health: A

new path forward? Nursing OutlookLinks to an external site., 65(1), 36–40.

doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2016.07.014

 ZEBRA Technologies. (n.d.). The future of healthcare: 2022 Hospital vision study: 

Mobile technology elevates patient care, empowers clinicians and enhances

workflowsLinks to an external site..

https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/solutions-

verticals/vertical-solutions/healthcare/white-paper/2022-hospital-vision-

study-en-global.pdf