Current State Evaluation: Nephrology Nurse Environment

Current State Evaluation Name Institution Current State Evaluation Introduction The need for quality healthcare service provision in any nation cannot be undervalued in any way. However, nursing as a profession is a system that consists of various sectors that work together towards achieving of a common goal. Most importantly, the working environment should be conducive not only for the nurses but also for the patients. The focus of nursing environment is to better patient’s experiences, safety and care by creating an environment that is healthy and good for the nurses. This paper will focus on the Nephrology infusion nurse and the challenges they incur in the implementation of Electronic Medical Record systems and patient portal. Nephrology Nurse Environment Currently I am working as a Nephrology infusion nurse specialist and advancing to Nephrology Informatics Nurse. Specialist Nephrology nurses are practitioners who have vast experience in taking care for people with kidney injuries and diseases. Nephrology nurse practitioners provide thorough assessments on health. They provide guidelines on diets; treatments and tests. They evaluate patient care and direct the kind of care to be provided to the people with such diseases (Gomez, 2017). Nephrology nurses are nurses with certification from relevant authorities; they prescribe medicine for the patients and also makes referrals for therapies. They work hand in hand with a physician and they are employed by institutions like; Kidney dialysis centers, hospitals and chronic kidney disease clinics. They do screening to patients to determine whether they have kidney diseases and also educate patients on how to use diets prescribed by the doctor. They also treat fluid and anemia imbalances (Johnson et.al, 2018). Nephrology nurse works together with social workers, other nurses and medical doctors to ensure effective and excellent health care. My current work involves administering treatment to patient by way of intravenous infusion (IV).Am advancing to Nephrology informatics nurse. This field of nursing involves engineering of information systems related to patients with Kidney problems. This system will allow me to analyze patient’s information and provide appropriate feed back to them. This new field requires the implementation of a system known as EMR/EHR and Patient Portal. This is a system that is accessed through a pin that is secured. It includes a Personal Health Record (PHR) and allows the Nephrology Informatics nurse and the patient to surely exchange information. So patients log into their portals anytime they feel to verify and update their medical conditions. Through this system a patient who is asking for services such as screening appointments can log into the portal and add all medical information, insurance and demographic details before they come to the office (Nadkarni et.al, 2016). Challenges and Opportunities of EMR Implementation of EMR and Patient Portal can bring forth many opportunities. First it can lead to decreased cost of health care. Although there are high costs required to implement this system, numerous studies that have been carried out show that a well functional EHR can aid in reduction of costs in the long run. Overhead costs may be reduced through reduced paper work; storage as well as costs of transcription is reduced. Through the system, efficiency is gained. This is brought about by complete and improved documentation of billing processes and reduction in errors during billing (Bennett et.al, 2019). Malpractices and fraud are also reduced with use of the system as paper records are reduced. The cost-benefit analysis done concerning the system shows that the system benefit outweighs the costs. Investing in high end EHR can provide safety improvement and reduction in delays that are experienced during medical decision making. All investments in health that consumes large capital have proved over time to provide services of high quality. It is also likely that hospitals with greater investments have low rates of mortality. Also prescription patterns under this system are improved. Outcomes from the use of this system are improved hence instances of risks and malpractices are reduced.EMR also can improve communication between the patient and the health care providers and with increased rates of decision making the patients do not have to wait for transfer of medical records from one departments to another. Through effective communication, engagement of patients with applications such as medical devices and portals are enhanced and fostered (Gomez, 2017). Through EMR timely and convenient access to records of patients ...