Bolstering healthcare systems needs evolving policies that translate into enhanced development and provision of healthcare services and technologies. Innovation that is based on needs drives this process. Discovering, making, and delivery of different healthcare services and products are essential parts of health innovation. Therefore, health care innovation introduces new concepts, ideas, services, processes, or products to enhance treatment, make a diagnosis, education, prevention, and research. Healthcare innovation’s long-term goals are to improve safety, patient outcomes, quality, healthcare costs, and efficiency ( Kelly & Young, 2017 ). IT is the primary driver of healthcare innovation. This report describes an innovation plan for glucose monitoring and tracking among pregnant patients with gestational diabetes in an obstetrics/gynecology unit.
Assessment
The obstetrics/gynecology unit requires innovation in glucose monitoring and tracking in pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Research indicates that electronic medical records are essential for enhancing diabetes care ( Weatherly et al., 2018 ). Also, evidence suggests the feasibility of automated integration of glucose monitoring data into HER through implementing consumer technology. An assessment of the obstetrics/gynecology unit’s Electronic Health Records vendor will be conducted to determine its patient portal app with operating systems that allow data interoperability. The assessment findings will be used to identify the most appropriate and efficient data interoperable operating system that can be integrated into the unit’s EHR so that glucose data from patient’s devices such as smartphones can be uploaded for remote monitoring. Patients can use their smartphones to upload their glucose results collected at home ( Weatherly et al., 2018 ). The gestational diabetic pregnant patients will upload their glucose results for monitoring and tracking by healthcare providers in the obstetrics/gynecology department.
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Diagnosis
The organization’s obstetrics/gynecology unit requires a more efficient approach for gestational diabetes management. Most pregnant women with gestational diabetes spend approximately more than two hours a week at the obstetrics/gynecology clinic/unit. The two hours do not include the time spent traveling to and from the healthcare facility. They are required to attend the clinic once every week to monitor and track their glucose monitoring from diagnosis time. As a result of frequency in attendance, the long distances that some of them are required to travel to get to the clinic, associated costs, and the busy schedules, compliance to clinic visits is a significant challenge. It has led to an increased number and frequency of hospitalizations and emergency room visits among gestational diabetes pregnant women.
Failure to make clinic visits for monitoring increases the risk of severe outcomes. Appropriate glycemic control for pregnant women is critical because it reduces the risk of gestational diabetes complications. Complications associated with gestational diabetes can affect both the mother and the baby. For babies, the condition can cause excess weight at birth, causing wedging in the birth canal, leading to injuries or requiring a caesarian section. Also, gestational diabetes can cause preterm labor, adverse breathing problems such as respiratory distress syndrome, and low blood sugar in some babies a short period after birth. Besides, the condition is associated with increased risk for obesity or type II diabetes later in life in babies born to mothers with the disease. Gestational diabetes can cause stillbirth if not managed appropriately. For pregnant mothers, if gestational diabetes is not managed, it can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes in the future, and preeclampsia. These adverse effects of gestational diabetes are evidence that innovation in glucose monitoring and tracking is needed in the obstetrics unit. A creation that allows gestational diabetes to upload their glucose results from home for remote monitoring of their glucose levels is urgently required in the department.
Plan
This report recommends automated remote monitoring of blood glucose levels in pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. According to Kumar et al. (2016), the use of continuous glucose monitors integrated into the EHR systems is feasible and has improved patient outcomes. The development of passive information communication links through patient smartphones enables automated integration of patient data on glucose levels in the Electronic Health Records (Kumar et al., 2016). This innovation would ensure that the blood glucose of patients is continuously monitored without having to travel to the clinic every week for monitoring. As a result, patients would only need to make visits at the clinic once a month or as the healthcare provider deems necessary, based on the patient’s results. An operating system compatible with the current EHR used in the organization would be needed to complete the innovation effectively. The steps necessary to put the invention into practice include:
Assessment of the current EHR vendor’s compatibility with an automated and interoperable operating system.
Purchase of the proposed automated system from an identified vendor.
Integration of the innovation into the current EHR system.
Evaluation
Are patients able to upload their blood glucose levels into the EHR system automatically?
Has blood glucose monitoring and tracking in pregnant women with gestational diabetes improved?
Are healthcare providers and patients able to effectively communicate on the platform?
Conclusion
The obstetrics/gynecology unit requires innovation in glucose monitoring and tracking among pregnant women with gestational diabetes. Problems such as the inability to attend clinics every week and long distances that some patients travel to have their blood glucose monitored at the healthcare facility prevent effective and efficient monitoring. As a result, both patients and their babies are at an increased risk of complications related to the condition. This report recommends automated remote monitoring and tracking of blood sugar.
References
Kelly, C. J., & Young, A. J. (2017). Promoting innovation in healthcare. Future Hospital Journal , 4 (2), 121-125. https://doi.org/10.7861/futurehosp.4-2-121
Kumar, R. B., Goren, N. D., Stark, D. E., Wall, D. P., & Longhurst, C. A. (2016). Automated integration of continuous glucose monitor data in the electronic health record using consumer technology. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association , 23 (3), 532-537. doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocv206
Weatherly, J., Kishnani, S. S., & Aye, T. (2018). Automated integration of Glucometer data into the electronic health record. Diabetes , 67 (Supplement 1), 907-P. doi.org/10.2337/db18-907
