Question

• How can the use of the nurse's personal communication device(s) impact patient care positively and/or negatively?
• What are the ethical and legal implications of the use of personal devices?
• What does the professional literature say about how communication devices can support safe nursing practice?

Answer 1

Positive impacts of use of the nurse's personal communication devices on patient care are :-

• Personal communication devices increases information access and communication among nurses and patients.
• They lowers the failure - to - respond rates.
• They enhances productivity.
• They enabled better coordination of patient care among the healthcare team including nurses.
• They encourages teamwork.
• They increases the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care.

Negative impacts of use of the nurse's personal communication devices on patient care are :-

• Personal communication devices can cause distraction to the nurses during the patient care when using them for their personal activities like sending or reading email, surfing social media websites, etc
• Nurses could also use them for their recreational activities.
• There is a risk of leakage of confidential data
• There is also risk of privacy breaches.
• They could also lead to the transmission of microorganisms to the sterile environments.

​​​​​​​Ethical and legal implications of the use of personal communication devices :

• While using the personal communication devices, there is a chance that nurses could violate hospital security and privacy policies, code of ethics, and federal laws like HIPAA, etc.
• Sending protected health information on personal communication devices which can be linked to the specific patient violates state nurse practice acts.
• Violation of the above acts, laws, and policies could lead to punishment for nurses.

​​​​​​​Professional literature say that personal communication devices can support safe nursing practice. Strong passwords and multiple layers of authentication must be used. Certain security rules should be followed by nurses while using these devices. They should not use unsecured wireless networks and unencrypted apps. Cyber security professionals should teach nurses about the safe use of these devices.