Module Six: Policy/Ethical Issues Related to Information Technology

What is one new thing you learned in this module, or something that you knew but had forgotten?

I have learned many important things about computers and computer systems within the health care setting in this class. From this module, it is very important to keep patient information safe and secure as you are viewing it on a computer. I used to become frustrated at how many times I had to change passwords at work and school, but now I understand just how important keeping your (and your patients) confidential information safe truly is. I also found the "10 Tips to Secure Your Laptop" very useful and will be utilizing those tips in the future.

We have had many problems in the unit where I work concerning Facebook. Many of my colleagues have found it a place to "release" some of their built up frustrations from work and make comments about it on their Facebook page. The problem with this is many people forget that what you write on your Facebook page is there for everyone to see. This becomes a problem because what is said may offend someone, or, they put to much information about a patient on there which is a direct violation of that patients (and that patients family) privacy. This module has taught me that there are many ethical considerations that need to be considered when using the internet and computerized health care information systems.  

Module Five: Decision Support for Care Delivery

How did the readings influence your perception of your own clinical decision-making?

After viewing the lecture given by Daniel Kahneman (which I enjoyed) and reading the articles for module five, I have learned that I use intuition a great deal more than I realized. I would not ever call myself an expert in the field of neonatal medicine as it is ever changing, however; I certainly have had my days where I come on to a shift and notice "little" things about a baby that just do not feel right only to have that baby become very sick on my shift. Because of that "intuition" the NICU team is able to get that baby the help that it needs a lot faster, giving that baby a better chance at survival. 

I did learn that it does take more than just intuition to make the best decisions possible. In the Intermountain Healthcare NICU where I work, we utilize the Collaborative Practice Guideline (CPG) system. I have seen it work many times in helping with many different situations from how to unclot a line depending on what the substance was that had clotted the line, to what to do with a cardiac suction tube post op cardiothoracic surgery. It definitely helps to have intuition (system I) along with controlled reasoning (system II) to give the best care to our little patients in the NICU.