Smart Pill Technology
Introduction
Undoubtedly, any pediatric nurse practitioner’s central objective is to deliver positive health results for children while operating in a wide range of fields, including critical care and wellness education. Over the years, technology has become an integral component in pediatric nursing practice. Indeed, various technological innovations have significantly impacted care delivery, communication, and professional growth, especially among the pediatric nurses and the entire health team (Goldschmidt 226). Therefore, improving the overall health outcomes by affecting morbidity and reducing mortality rates among children. Smart pill technology is a highly promising yet controversial new technological development in the pediatric nursing field that can help health providers to monitor a patient’s condition internally and determine whether they are taking their prescriptions properly.
About the Technology
Ideally, smart pill technology is a standard medical prescription embedded with a tiny sensor coated with two ingestible metals: magnesium and copper. Assertively, the metals are safe for consumption and exist in multivitamin supplements and natural diets. Upon ingestion, the capsule, triggered by electrolytes in the body, transmits a signal to a patch that a patient wears on their torso (Children’s Hospital Association). Then, the patch forwards the data via Bluetooth to the patient’s smartphone, computer, or even tablet, which in turn sends the information to a healthcare provider, enabling them to monitor prescription compliance. Hence, the tablet or the PC notifies a patient when they miss a scheduled dose and alerts their doctors of any incorrect or missed doses. The innovation allows pediatric nurse practitioners to monitor patients’ sleep levels, heart rates, and physical activity. Generally, the sensor built into the pill will enable physicians to assess a patient’s health from afar accurately.
Indeed, smart pills are a superior technology that contributes significantly to improving care delivery by enabling better and more efficient medical services. Hence, it will benefit the patient, pediatricians, and eventually improve overall public health. Incorporating the technology in pediatric nursing will help pediatricians manage recurring problems in the health sector, including children who forget to choose or take their drugs as prescribed (Mulcahy). The reason is that combining medication or incorrect doses often results in damaging effects on the body and may worsen the patient’s underlying health condition. Since smart pills require careful monitoring via smartphones or other mobile devices, a health facility must reconfigure the existing technological equipment. Therefore, an organization must invest a substantial share of its resources in purchasing new expenses and training to master the diagnostic and monitoring systems. Besides, pediatricians should ensure that they keep up with evolving research regarding smart drug availability to implement the strategy successfully.
Potential Application
The revolutionary innovation will bridge the gap between health facilities and digital technology. Therefore, swallowing the electronic device will enable a pediatrician to conduct a comprehensive analysis of a wide range of illnesses. Hence, technology will play a crucial role in facilitating better diagnostics and monitoring through remote controlling options. Specifically, the innovation will address the current prevalent issue of increased gastrointestinal diseases, including constipation and gastroparesis, that require high prescription compliance levels (Abdul Minaam and Abd-ELfattah 443). The stomach fluid serves as a power source that helps broadcast signals to the patch, and the data constitutes vital information such as patients’ heart rate body temperatures and the time of digestion. Hence, the wireless technology will help pediatricians analyze and sort data based on various parameters such as patient’s pressure and the PH of the gastrointestinal facts. More importantly, smart pill technology will enhance medical outcomes and decrease hospital admissions. The reason is that there is a higher likelihood that the patients and doctors will prefer the treatment due to its easy tracking, managing prescription and monitoring the overall health (Abdul Minaam and Abd-ELfattah 445). Undeniably one cannot underestimate the role of healthcare and technical industries’ convergence in yielding electronic and telehealth advances, and smart pill technology is one such example. Since medication adherence has been a significant target of health technology, innovation is prone to experience more popularity over time.
Limitations
Although smart technology will provide various benefits that can help improve patient care, there are various significant hindrances to smart pill technology’s successful adoption. One of the limitations is that patients may be hesitant to accept the concept (Mars). Indeed, the idea of putting microchips and cameras on one’s body can make some people uncomfortable. Hence, it may raise several ethical, legal, and scientific questions concerning data privacy sharing and possible side effects. Although the smart pill will enable pediatricians to ensure that patients take their prescribed medication correctly, the technology should consider privacy rights. Hence, the remote treatment and interaction option should not become intrusive.
Besides, innovation may disrupt medical monitoring practices and minimize physical interactions. Ideally, scientists are striving to invent a more impressive ingestible application. For instance, a nano-sensor can travel through the bloodstream and send the message to an electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet, alerting patients and doctors of any signs of an infection, impending heart attack, or any other health complication. Again, it could eliminate face-to-face health examinations, a critical aspect of the diagnosis and treatment process (Mulcahy). Smart pill technology could alter current medical monitoring due to a shift in wireless health. Hence, practitioners should respect the fact that intelligent pill technology means that patients no longer need physical visits to report any changing symptoms or any other concerns.
Another possible limitation is inadequate skills. Smart technology requires extensive staff retraining that could be expensive or ineffective. Pediatricians who administer smart pills need to acquire relevant data interpretation skills, speeding on applications, and addressing technological nuances that may arise. Therefore, lack of skills or inadequate training may hinder successful implementation. Besides, patients need to understand how to take smart pills properly, watch, and promptly report any issues (Mulcahy). When doctors and patients become fully informed with the technology, it will be a highly effective significant innovation. However, insufficient knowledge will render technological innovation ineffective and harmful.
Conclusion
Smart pill technology is a recent technological advancement that comprises a wireless pill that sends a signal to help a doctor monitor the patient’s prescription compliance remotely. The technology focuses on the medication copy based on temperature, pressure, heart rate, and PH, among other factors. Therefore, innovation will play a pivotal role in helping pediatricians address a wide range of health conditions, including gastrointestinal diseases. Despite the benefits, smart pills are suspectable to various limitations. Indeed, getting patients to take the tablet can be a significant hindrance and disrupt regular physical interactions and monitoring practices. Again, inadequate skills can hinder effective implementation. With complex illnesses that come with multiple and complicated instructions, patients can encounter challenges following the established guidelines. However, the technology is prone to development because it facilitates medication adherence by monitoring and managing prescriptions, a prime factor in improving the overall health outcomes.
Works Cited
Abdul Minaam, Diaa S., and Mohamed Abd-ELfattah. “Smart drugs: Improving healthcare using Smart Pill Box for Medicine Reminder and Monitoring System.” Future Computing and Informatics Journal, vol. 3, no. 2, 2018, pp. 443-456.
Children’s Hospital Association. “‘Smart Pills’ Help Doctors Monitor Patients from a Distance.” Children’s Hospital Association, 4 Jan. 2017, www.childrenshospitals.org/Newsroom/Childrens-Hospitals-Today/Articles/2017/01/Smart-Pills-Help-Monitor-the-Health-of-Transplant-Patients.
Goldschmidt, Karen. “Pediatric Nursing: Tech Matters.” Journal of Pediatric Nursing, vol. 25, no. 3, 2010, pp. 226-228, 10.1016/j.pedn.2010.02.002.
Mars. “How Ingestible Sensors and Smart Pills Will Revolutionize Healthcare.” Mars Discovery District, 26 Sept. 2014, www.marsdd.com/news/ingestibles-smart-pills-revolutionize-healthcare/.
Mulcahy, Lisa. “Multi-Brief: Smart Pills: The Pros and Cons of an Important Healthcare Trend in 2020.” Multi-Briefs – Your Source for Industry Specific News Briefs, 24 Jan. 2020, exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/smart-pills-the-pros-and-cons-of-an-important-healthcare-trend-in-2020/pharmaceutical.