In my current healthcare organization, I witness technology specialists interact
In my current healthcare organization, I witness technology specialists interacting with multiple professionals each day in a multitude of ways. I work in a busy perioperative setting, and smooth working technology platforms are essential to maintain a smooth flow and ensure patient safety. Within my hospital, technology specialists work with the medical labs, blood bank, administration, physicians, anesthesia personnel and many others. If there is an issue with any software, the IT department is available around the clock to remedy any problems. The perioperative environment is an intricate clinical arena that includes several variables such as a large array of instruments, supplies, and complex care. This in turn can lead to errors including surgical site misidentification, patient misidentification, and medical errors and omissions (Jacques & Minear, 2008). A reliable technological system is essential in this environment.
One way that interactions between technology specialists and professionals within my organization can be improved is to implement multidisciplinary meetings for staff. Multidisciplinary teams (MDT’s) are a crucial factor in the delivery of health care and “the use of health information systems and technology are key enabling factors for building the capacity of MDTs to engage in improvement and implementation projects” (Janssen et al., 2018, para. 1). These meetings provide the opportunity to address any clinical technological challenges, provide updates and devise solutions for any problems to ensure all staff are on the same page.
The continued evolution of new technologies impacts professional interactions in a plethora of ways. I believe there will be increased collaboration with other professions and increased demand for staff training due to new technologies. Healthcare changes drastically due to technological developments, ranging from antibiotics and anesthetics to magnetic resonance imaging scanners and radiotherapy (Thimbleby, 2022). This in turn will broaden professional interactions and hopefully have a significantly beneficial result for both patients and staff.