The Application of Data to Problem-Solving

Data has changed the way treatment is administered, enhanced prediction of outbreak
epidemics, helped improve the general quality of life through helping avoid preventable diseases.
Data collection is, therefore, important to healthcare providers. One of the scenarios that data
collection and application would help in better management of the patient condition is in the
management of blood pressure and asthma through real-time alerting. Health care providers
work to ensure ta patients stay away from hospitals to avoid expensive in-house treatments
(McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). However, doctors and still collect patient data and progress
while they are still at home through wearables. Patients go home with wearables, which collect
patient’s data concerning their health continuously; the data is then transmitted to the cloud.
The information is then made accessible to the health practitioner through the health
facility’s database, who then compare this data with records that they already have on the patient
(Sweeney, 2017). They react in case of any disturbing results. For instance, if the blood pressure
of a patient increases at an alarming rate, the data system alerts the physicians immediately. The
physician then takes action that may include contacting the patient immediately and take
measures that will help lower the blood pressure.
Overall, through real-time alerting data systems, physicians are able to collect
information about their patients in real-time without requiring patients to keep visiting the health
facility; thus, unnecessary visits to the doctor are minimized. It becomes easier to monitor a
patient’s progress and responsiveness to treatment. Also, these wearables help patients with
conditions such as asthma and blood pressure, whose stability needs to be constantly monitored

by nurses and other healthcare providers for the safety of the patient (Nagle et al., 2017).
Collecting such data is not only convenient for both patients and physicians but also lifesaving.

References

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge
(4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Nagle, L. M., Sermeus, W., Junger, A., & Bloomberg, L. S. (2017). Evolving Role of the
Nursing Informatics Specialist. Forecasting Informatics Competencies for Nurses in the
Future of Connected Health, 212.
Sweeney, J. (2017). Healthcare informatics. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 21(1).