Digitalization in operating room
I’m anesthesia nurse in Kainuu central hospital and been working there almost 13 years. Anesthesia hasn’t changed, we take care our patient in the same way as 10 years ago, but things have changed quite a lot when we talk about digitalization. When I started working, we wrote anesthesia document in paper and we were very last hospitals who got electronic anesthesia record system. It’s much easier to nurse, because all data from ventilator goes directly to “Antti” (that’s our electronic systems name). Writing took a lot of time, and everyone handwriting was not so clear (read anesthesiologist), so for example if they wrote regulation, sometimes it was hard to read and risk to give wrong medication or dose was much bigger than now.
Over all I think, it’s very good that we have different digitalization in our work, but there is a lot of different programs that we have to use when we treat a patient. For example in operating room we use “Opera”, our surgery information system, then we have to do “Rafaela” for every patient. It is patient classification system. We have to fill how hard or easy our patient is to take care of. Also we fill the patient record system for example bacterial culture for laboratory. So it takes a lot of time to treat computer nowadays. Digitalization is going forward and I’m sure, that we’ll get more different programs in future that we have to take care on instead of patient.
Risks of open digital society
I think it’s good thing, that there is data protection reform to help citizen and also give tools and orders to different companies. For example health care system could be much easier if patients information can be moved to another heart care system. Also I think that it is very stupid that we have different systems in our country. I could be much easier that we had only one, because if you get sick and you are not in your home city, your patient record maybe don’t see in another hospital, if you haven’t get permission about it. Kanta service is not the easiest system when we want to see patient information.
There is many risk of digitalization system. We have seen that patient record can be stolen and been published on line. Also I read cyber attack from medical magazine from 2016. There said, that everyday there is a lot of attacks. Good thing is, that in Finland we are prepared to those attacks and system can recognized and stop them. Risks are big in open digital society. But do we want to go back time any more, because digital society also gives us so much?
Questions to chat GPT
I asked, what operating room looks like. Most of it was right, but one thing about staff was wrong. There said, that everyone dress sterile outfit. That is wrong. Only surgeon, instrument nurse and assistant are sterile. Other people in the room are not. It also said that anesthesiologist is head of the patient. It was insult for anesthesia nurse, because we are there also :).
My second question was, what monitoring methods there is to keep patient in sleep during surgery. Answers were like I assumed. For example there is BIS-monitor, which gives direct estimate of consciousness level. Also we monitor vital signs of the patient; heartbeat, blood pressure, anesthesia gas level and oxygen level. Also we can feel if patient is sweating for example. So there is no only one thing to see if patient is in enough deep anesthesia.
All though, I think artificial intelligent can be good help, but you can’t trust that completely. I use chat GPT for example to tell a good marinade to meat, or to tell which cities in Thailand is good to travel if you want peace and quiet and also life and people. That is how much I trust in artificial intelligent.
Self evaluation
I haven’t focused on digital society much in my thoughts, it just came along with me and I use tools what I have given in my work and home. When I think it more, it may be little bit scary also. Is there somebody watching in my laptop camera? Is there somebody takin information in our house, because robot vacuum cleaner is writing a map when it cleans? It also can take pictures. If I start think those things too much, I probably will come crazy, so is better that I don’t think those things too much.
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