How Digitisation of Health Impacts a Health Professional’s Delivery of Primary Healthcare
To explore how digitisation of health may impact a health professional’s delivery of primary healthcare and the consumer-clinician relationship, and to provide an evidence-based practice (EBP) approach to evaluating applications (apps).
SCENARIO: You are a newly graduated health professional:
o Occupational Therapist
You have obtained your first full-time position in this role working with Kuma’s Super Clinic. The Health Service Provider has already begun digitising its health care delivery with an online appointment booking system and check-in app. The Super Clinic wants to be a leader in the provision of digital healthcare, up-to-date with client preferences and promoting the latest digital technologies. However, the Directors of the Super Clinic are also aware of their responsibility as clinicians to ensure that patient safety and quality of care is maintained at all times. You have been asked by the Directors to draft an article for Pulse-IT which:
a) Explores how digital health is changing the primary healthcare landscape and how the nature of the clinician-patient relationship is changing (CONTEXT).
b) Explains, in general, and gives specific examples of, how apps (applications) can be assimilated into primary healthcare delivery for your selected discipline/role.
c) Evaluate, using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) or another application rating scale of your choice, one app (application) related to your discipline, incorporating the following questions, along with the findings of your application rating scale:
• What is the app? Who created it? What does it do?
• Would you recommend it to your patients and why?
• Can we trust the app?
• What is the impact on your profession?
Summarise the findings of your evaluation.
d) Provide recommendations regarding the application e.g. would you recommend it to your peers? Justify your response.
FORMAT:
• You must assume that you are writing for the online magazine Pulse IT for your discipline (that is your audience).
• You can use the same language, but we expect academic writing e.g. sources, references, formal language.
Digital Health
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Introduction
Digital Health entails the utilization of technology and information and communication systems to elevate and improve how healthcare is delivered and managed. It includes several services and technologies which enhance the efficiency, quality, and accessibility of healthcare. It is of benefit to both patients and healthcare professionals as it improves patient engagement and enables better delivery of the intended care (Robinson et al., 2021). It includes various components including mobile health applications, electronic records, and telemedicine. Digital health has a great potential to change and improve healthcare by making it more accessible, data-driven, and patient centered.
Impact of Digital Health on the Primary Healthcare Landscape and the Clinician-Patient Relationship
Digital health is significantly bringing a revolution to the primary healthcare landscape and positively impacting the clinician-patient relationship and healthcare delivery. Key aspects of this revolution include the adoption of mobile health apps. The adoption of mobile health apps significantly enables patients to track their medications, monitor their health, and access health information (Qudah & Luetsch, 2019). Mobile health applications provide medication reminder tools that can be used to manage chronic conditions, check symptoms, and foster more patient engagement.