Hola a tod@s, my dear friends.
We are sure that Chema Cepeda will be happy: If someone in Spain talks about it is him: “Technology will advance health always if we apply it in a suitable and person-centered context”.
He explains it in his post “Humanism in health and approach technologies” (only available in Spanish): Is technology the only responsible of the dehumanization of health? Can it contribute to its restitution? Can be Technology a humanizing factor by itself?.
– Technology approachs other people with health problems similar to ours, which we can learn and on which they can rely.
– It makes closer to sources of information, professionals and health institutions.
– It helps us to get horizontal relationship models in which patient is at the center of the system.
Healthcare professionals have in our hands to build those much-needed bridges between humanism and technology and we must put at the disposal of patients and professional tools that enable them to improve their health, but teaching them to use them properly and without losing sight of this integral vision of the human being.”
He wrote this more than a year ago. Yesterday our mates of ICU of Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz set the wick and jumped to media by putting up an online system that allows family members of patients first-hand information about the evolution of their loved ones.
They deliver a code to the authorized family member which lets him/her access from the mobile phone or tablet, through a secure channel (in the patient Portal), the latest news about the state of health and patient evolution that occur outside the opening hours, in particular during the night.
During the next week, Dr. César Pérez Calvo (cesarpcalvo@me.com), Head of the service, will tell us in detail how runs the system that they have implemented: “Our goal with these measures is being as close as possible to families who have patients in the ICU and try to put them things easier in a critical situation, in short humanize a bit more our intensive care”.
At the same time, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón colleagues led by a nurse, Carmen Díaz (cdiazc@salud.madrid.org) are developing a research project in their critical care units, whose objective is to minimize the anxiety and stress of the family generated by a lack of information and knowledge of the patient’s condition.
This project, recently presented by Meritxell Tàpia in the “II Jornada d´Infermeria ACES “Atenció i informatizació: ¿Aliats o enemics?” uses an application of instant messaging, and the family members receive notifications in real-time of the situation of the patient. Thus, the families feel more close and personalized professional communication.
The App ensures the privacy and safety through security and identification codes, and the storage on servers of the hospital (record in SAP / programme of the information sent, who has read it and as a legal document).
It seems therefore that approach technologies finally demolished the ICU walls to serve as bridges.
From IC-HU project we can’t just congratulate the promoters and users.
Happy Friday,
Gabi
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