Scientists are constantly on the lookout for ways to develop the various branches of humanity. One of these branches includes healthcare. A booming field of healthcare is called telehealth, and it involves the spread of medical information through technology. Antimicrobial stewardship’s main goal is to ensure that those who prescribe drugs are doing so in the most effective ways. As more and more research discoveries are being made, such as those in antimicrobial stewardship, it is vital that health professionals and practitioners refine their practice and share their findings with their patients.
It is defined as the sector of healthcare that involves using telecommunications technology as a means of educating people on maximizing their health’s potential. It can be used in various fields of medicine, including dentistry, internal medicine, and chronic disease management. It is used as a means to educate the masses on ways to enhance the way they take care of themselves. This method of communication allows health professionals to access their patients from remote locations to decrease the gap between practitioner and patient. As time progresses through the digital age, this form of healthcare communication continues to develop and revolutionizes the way health is administered.
It’s no surprise that the reforms being made globally due to technology have found their way into healthcare. For example, since many people have cell phones, tablets and PDAs, it has become very easy for patients and doctors to communicate with one another on mobile devices. For those who would rather speak to someone face to face, live video chats are another viable option. Communicating with those in rural and island locations is also another example of this form of telecommunication being used as a means of reforming global health. These are all examples of the sharing of information digitally.
Antimicrobial stewardship involves the efforts to ensure that those who prescribe antimicrobials are educated and follow evidence-based prescribing. This ensures that antibiotics do not get over or underused, which will then lead to effective antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship involves studying antimicrobial use, establishing guidelines for proper use and treatment, implementing plans, and assessing the data and refining methods. This is known as the quality improvement theory, and by following this theory, healthcare professionals have been able to continuously improve the system of antimicrobial stewardship.
The goals of antimicrobial stewardship are vast and numerous. One of the major goals is to decrease adverse drug reactions. This is done by conducting research on drugs and their use. The research findings are used to educate health professionals so that they can, in turn, educate their patients. Another major goal of antimicrobial stewardship is, of course, to decrease antimicrobial resistance. This also ensures the proper and effective use of prescribed medication. A third goal includes the improvement in patient outcomes. This is achieved by also using the quality improvement theory.
This modern way of communication can surely play a vital role in the widespread of antimicrobial stewardship. One way this can be done is by physicians and health practitioners sharing information with patients on new research findings. Suppose a new research discovery has been made about the effects of ampicillin on bacteria; the drug is no longer that effective on people ages sixty and up. Once health professionals have been made aware of this discovery, they should refine the way they administer ampicillin and share this information, maybe through live video chats, with any of their patients who take the drug, especially those over the age of sixty. This is just one example of how this new branch of communication can improve the transfer of information of antimicrobial stewardship from the lab to the community.
When it comes to applying this new branch of healthcare to antimicrobial stewardship, it is very important that those in remote locations have access to new findings and discoveries in the same way those in urban areas do. This is one of the challenges of sharing important healthcare information in this revolutionary way: the adequate use and maintenance of technology in locations that are not as technologically developed. It is imperative that barriers of communicating electronically are crossed so that the goals of antimicrobial stewardship can be met. Both health professionals and members of the community must work together to keep open lines of communication.
It is evident that technology is revolutionizing the field of healthcare. It has made the way for the telecommunication of healthcare to become the growing means it is. As the digital age progresses, more research will be done to ensure that prescribers of drugs will be correctly practicing the administration of medications. The implications of this new form of telecommunication on antimicrobial stewardship seem to be very positive, and the field of medicine will continue to improve on the path that it is on.