The use of information and communication technologies in mental health nursing

摘要

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are part of everyday nursing practice. They are routinely used to store patient data and provide the foundation by which teams and health professionals communicate (e.g. mental health nurses use email as part of their daily practice). This paper discusses the use of ICTs by mental health nurses and their impact on mental health nursing practice. While some benefits of ICTs-information management, access to health services, quality improvement and cost containment-are well documented, others have yet to be fuily realised. The paper looks at the possible reasons for this and examines why mental health nurses should concern themselves with this technological revolution. This paper discusses the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by mental health nurses as part of their clinical practice. It seeks to illustrate the benefits to be had from such technologies and why it is important that mental health nurses engage with them as part of clinical practice. Understanding how ICTs contribute to practice and generate clinical value is considered, then the wider implications and use of such technologies in promoting service innovation and improvement are examined. While the reported benefits of ICTs-improved information management, access to health services, quality improvement and cost containment-are well documented, their effects, it is argued here, have yet to be fully realised by mental health nurses in their day-to-day practice. How much of this can be attributed to the ICTs themselves or to what seems to be a reluctance by clinicians to engage with such technologies remains unclear and open to debate.